Do you buy new versions of TTRPG games when you haven't had time to play the older version sitting on your shelf?

[Arnie_Wan_Kenobi]

Do I have a countdown until the Free League Alien 2nd Edition Kickstarter drops? Yes. Is the first edition starter set sitting on my shelf? Yes. Have I made vauge plans to run a "Halloween Xenonorph Fest" with the starter? Yes. For the last three years? Yes. Have I played it? No.

Is the same scenario going to play out with the new The One Ring starter in July? Yes.

In my defense: Free League Publishing. I will happily just read their stuff and be content.

 

[Thomas Shey]

In my defense: Free League Publishing. I will happily just read their stuff and be content.

This is an important element; if I think something will be worth reading, then its worth buying/backing. For people who don't find games interesting to read, that may be foreign, but here we are.

 

[MNblockhead]

When I realized that I had games on my shelf that I bought to read, realizing I would likely never run them, but ended up never getting around to reading them, I accepted I had a problem. My Kindle collection confirms this. Now I really try not to buy on impulse.

 

[Thomas Shey]

When I realized that I had games on my shelf that I bought to read, realizing I would likely never run them, but ended up never getting around to reading them, I accepted I had a problem. My Kindle collection confirms this. Now I really try not to buy on impulse.

I'm more likely to start reading a game, realize its doing something that annoys me and stop. I rarely don't get around to at least starting reading a game I've deliberately bought (I'm including charity bundles here which always include some things I don't care about with those I do, but I normally don't even download those).

 

[User51]

I do buy games I never intend to play just because I love game design and I love spending time reading through new settings. I'm an amateur collector, though. I try to limit my purchases to keep my hobby within my means, both in terms of time and money. I occasionally get a lot of PDFs with a Humble Bundle that I never wind up reading, but otherwise I tend to read through at least the core books of whatever I purchase. I would play them all if I could!

 

[Distracted DM]

... OK does it count if I only had the basic Torchbearer book and never ran it, but then shelled out for the super nice Torchbearer 2e release?

... Yeah. Same goes for Into the Odd.

 

[aramis erak]

Got back into TTRPGs in 2014. I keep seeing new editions and starter sets for games I've bought and never got around to playing. There is a weird pull to want to buy the new version, just in case I do play them. I've not succumb to this as I've gotten over my earlier impulse buying of Kickstarter material and now that I play online, I don't buy many physical books. If prices are low enough, I might buy a PDF of a core book, just to check it out, but I don't buy VTT versions of games until I have a plan (as in first session on the calendar) to run them. But there is still that pull.

For those of you who do find themselves buying new versions of games they own older editions of, but have never played, is it mainly because you like collecting games or is it because you still want to run the game and figure you might as well get the new rules?

What triggered this post was reading another post about a new Lord of the Rings starter set. But the biggest temptation was the 2023 release of Paranoia: Perfect Edition, by Mongoose games. I bought nearly everything they published for the Red Clearance edition (I backed the Kickstarter for the Ultraviolet edition, which was an early release of the Red Clearance edition), but only ran one game session. I was very attempted to at least get the new rule book as it seemed to streamline and improve upon the mechanics and brought back a lot of classic lore. But I'm in the minority of fans who likes the card mechanics of the Red Clearance edition and I was happy enough with the lore. Still, if I get more time and decide to run some games, I might get a PDF version of the new edition to see if there are any rule changes I want to incorporate into my Red Clearance game.

Cubicle 7 releasing the Old World TTRPG is going to be tempting, but I think I can resist, so long as I don't make the mistake of paging through a book at a convention or FLGS.

How about you?

Some times. FFG Star Wars was the one that got bught, because the SWSE rules never got bought and I never ran d20 SW revised. But that's the exception.
There are some I bought solely to read, tho', so those, if there's compelling reasons, yep.

 

[sabrinathecat]

Mostly I end up with a bunch of books and games I never get a chance to play at all. That includes some like Alien, Indiana Jones, and Lamentations of the Flame Princess, but all so a bunch of kickstarter games like Mothership, Werewolves of London, and the like. It would be nice to be able to find a local gaming club where I could run or play RPGs, but that doesn't seem to be an option anymore.

 

[cbwjm]

I have all three editions of Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Never played it. One can dream though.

 

[Distracted DM]

Mostly I end up with a bunch of books and games I never get a chance to play at all. That includes some like Alien, Indiana Jones, and Lamentations of the Flame Princess, but all so a bunch of kickstarter games like Mothership, Werewolves of London, and the like. It would be nice to be able to find a local gaming club where I could run or play RPGs, but that doesn't seem to be an option anymore.

I'd say "try online games," but you've probably considered that! Locals not an option anymore? Depending on how much energy you have, you can always try to get something going if you can't find anything. I know, easier said than done