Gaming Dollars Spent in 2023

[ninjayeti]

This post made me go back and look at my own hobby spending in 2023. While I did not track it at the time, I buy stuff from from a pretty limited number of sources so it is not too hard to recreate after the fact.

Physical books ~$310
I think this is higher than usual in this category as I typically get digital versions of RPG materials. This year I went in on a number of Kickstarters for physical books (Shadowdark, ToV, Shadow of the Weird Wizard). Other than that just a copy of the Dragonlance adventure - I have been running it in FG but it is nice to have the dead tree version to prep.

Miniatures/Paints ~$220
Mostly Reaper and WizKids minis, but I also went in on a Kickstarter from Next Level Minis, plus a few paints. Definitely more stuff than I have been able to paint (and the Kickstarter stuff still on the way) but not too bad.

RPG PDFs ~$110
I picked up a Kobold Press Humble Bundle, plus a number of things off DriveThruRPG. Probably lower than usual for me in this category, as I typically buy a ton of PDFs.

Fantasy Grounds ~$30
I picked up the FG conversion of the Dragonlance adventure, which I have been running online.

 

[MGibster]

2024 could be different. I decided to no longer play miniature wargames in stores. My friends buy the board games now. As for RPGs, we alternate GMs, it splits the cost. Also, buyer fatigue has crept up on me. New RPGs don't interest me. I've culled my collection down to eight titles. I'll buy expansion books for those IF I find them interesting.

I stopped the majority of my board game purchases a few years back. There just wasn't much of a reason for my to buy a game knowing the people I'm likely to play it with own it anyway.

I don't keep track. I value my marriage

Ha! When Mrs. MGibster got home from work today I told her about my big purchase of $220. She was fine with it. She's pretty cool about my expenditures and I'm pretty cool about hers. We're in a good place financially, so this isn't placing any undue burden on us.

Yeah, I live on a very meagre income, so buying (and assembling, painting, etc) a figure for every character I play isn't in the cards. Especially if they're not going to survive more then four sessions (to be fair this death was just down to dice rolls). I think I'm just going to buy a counter collection from Paizo. That will give me my choice of counters to represent my character and also serve me well as a GM.

Even not accounting for income, who has the time for all that? Just because I have a PC doesn't mean I want a particular miniature for it. I try to concentrate my efforts on painting things I find fun to paint.

@MGibster Thanks for posting this! Your effort and the responses highlight why I should track my RPG-related expenditures. I know I spent way to much in 2023; just have to look back and calculate the damage.

Probably a good idea to do this for everything.

I picked up a Kobold Press Humble Bundle, plus a number of things off DriveThruRPG. Probably lower than usual for me in this category, as I typically buy a ton of PDFs.

I sometimes pick up a PDF based on how likely it is that I'll actually play the game. If I do play the game, the company lucks out because I'll purchase a physical copy.

 

[schneeland]

I don't track on the level of detail you have, i.e. I only have the categories Games (which include also video and board games), Crowdfunding (which is mostly RPGs, but also a few non-RPG books and music projects) and Books (which is , RPG books count as Games). Checking my tracking file, it seems that my expenses are pretty steady over the last three years when summing up these three categories (which make up most of my hobby expenses). They are higher than your total expenses; however, they are 50% lower than they were in 2020 (probably mostly due to the fact that I significantly cut down on physical books I buy). All in all, expenses could be a bit lower, but I'm not making any specific plans here except for checking again at the end of 2024.

On the upside, I managed to read 12 RPG books in 2023 (I'm half-way through number 13, but I might not complete it), which is back up from 9 I had last year (2021 was also 12). The tentative plan is to keep this pace and slowly, but steadily work through my (digital) pile of unread stuff.

I also spent a bit of money on VTT software this year, so the plan for 2024 is to find some time to actually set it up and - probably the trickier part - also try to run a few games again (I felt burnt out on GMing in late 2021 and was lucky enough to find new groups where I could be just a player).

 

[R_J_K75]

One thing I always wanted to invest in was Dwarven Forge and other brands of the like. First reason I didn't was price and space constraints. Second being they are pretty much worthless without a good miniatures collection. Always seemed to me that the terrain has to be set up before hand and isn't conducive for on-the-fly gaming. If I had the space and money, I would definitely have a giant collection of terrain and minis. Every time I see pics of people's dioramas of their terrain sets for their games, I get envious.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Going to do this in 2024. Not sure how to categorize. I might track a couple dimensions
Source: Crowdfunds, FLGS, Online Stores, Other Sources
Product Type: D&D; Other; Board Games; TCGs (Magic, VTES, etc)
Product format: Dead Tree vs Digital
Purchase mode: One Time Sales v Subscriptions (Roll20; Patreon; other?)
Discount Level: Retail Price; Premium Price (for example an Ebay auction); Discounted
Previous Ownership type: New vs Used
I might also track "Spent" vs "Delivered" for crowdfunds

Ok, that was more dimensions than I originally thought - but all are interesting, no?

 

[MGibster]

I might also track "Spent" vs "Delivered" for crowdfunds

Had I participated in any Kickstarters this year I would have included them on my list for sure.

If you do have all those categories, maybe you could sell it to Morrus for market research? Gotta monetize everything these days.

 

[ichabod]

If you do have all those categories, maybe you could sell it to Morrus for market research? Gotta monetize everything these days.

Morrus is just patiently waiting for all of us to post our numbers next year for free market research.

 

[Weiley31]

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.

On the fear of something similar happening to a pc in DND sessions, I've come up with a rule/guideline: Until the character reaches certain level thresholds/ends up saving the realms, I wouldn't go crazy on a custom model/miniature for them right off the bat. That way if they die early in a campaign, it won't be a bitter physical reminder.

Once they have a few campaigns under their belts, THEN immortalize em with a Miniature.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Other than my annual Roll20 fee, I only recall buying a couple maps, probably $10 all together. There are some Oones products in my wish list, and some tokens, but I doubt I'll buy them before 2024. I have downloaded a couple gigs of free stuff.