How do you organize your gaming collection?

[cignus_pfaccari]

I thought about this after Merric's thread on the 2005 releases, after I mentioned how I thought that Planar Handbook was a Hero book, as it's got the same binding that they've traditionally used for Players books.

That got me thinking...I know I have a weird filing scheme, which I'll outline below, but how do other people arrange their books? (My ulterior motive is to see if there's anyone even weirder than me!)

My system varies based on what's available. For D&D, I separate the books into several categories, subdivided by chronological order:

* - Players Books (PHB, XPH, ELH, SS, etc*);
* - Guidebooks (The 3.0 softcovers, A&EG, and the Races** books);
* - DM Books (So far, only DMG, MotP, and DD...pity);
* - Monster Books (MMs, Fiend Folio);
* - Campaign Expansions (OA, BoED, "Monsters" & "Environments", etc***.);
* - Campaign Settings (FRCS & Co., Ghostwalk, Eberron).

Third-party books go on another shelf.

* - Yes, 3.5PHB and XPH no longer have the standard Player binding, but their previous incarnations (since boxed up) did, so they get grandfathered in.

** - Their bindings are strangely similar to the 3.0 softcovers, so they get filed in with what would otherwise be a dead category.

*** - Since the "Monsters" series involves a lot of player stuff and DM stuff, I can't logically file them with the Monster Manuals. Yes, I told you I was weird. Right now, the Environment series will be the last in this category, unless other one-shots come out.

For other games, it depends. If there's a product number on the spine, I use that, even if it spurns chronological order.

My GURPS books are a special case; they don't display product numbers on the spines, so I'm forced to order based on theme...it goes from high crunch (Basic, Compendia, Vehicles), going down all the way to campaign settings.

Anyone else?

Brad

 

[Crothian]

First they are orghianized by company and then by alphabet. But it covers three bookcases, piles on the floor, and about a half dozen boxes. I could really use bigger bookcases and better organizing though.

 

[xazil]

Less used books get put on book shelves organized by game then company (for d20). Commonly used stuff like the core 3.5 books sit in a pile that gets lugged between the kitchen table (for playing) and my computer. A books worth is measured by its weight along with how much it's used.

 

[Kirin'Tor]

My shelves are sorted very similarly to yours:

3.0 & 3.5 have sperate shelves (small shelves, plus it helps those less familiar with what's what)
Each sorted into Player, DM, and Monster Categories
Books are in sub groups, where possible
Books are alphabetized in subgroups, where relevant
WotC books take priority order over non WotC, by subgroup
Books are sorted by topic relevance: More DM-esque player books (BoED, UA, APG) are closer to the DM section

3.5 Shelf goes like this
Player Books
PHB, XPH, Races Series (of Stone, currently), Complete Series (Divine & Warrior, currently) + CBoEM (Malhavoc), Planar Handbook, BoED, UA, Advanced Players Guide (AEG), MiniHB

DM Books
DMG, Environment Series (Frostburn, Currently)

Monster Books
MM, MMIII (MM# Series, as more come), Fiend Folio, Monster Focus Series (Draconomicon & Libris Mortis, currently)

3.0 Is done the same way, with one additional rule (that doesn't yet apply to 3.5):
Hardbacks always take priority over softcovers, even within subgroup

Settings have two shelves:
Fantasy (FR, EbCS, DLCS, etc.), Modern\Future (d20M\d20F, SG-1, SWd20,etc)

Settings are sorted generally by most player oriented to least, subject to teh previous rules

FR is sorted as follows: (sorry for using abbv.'s, but I don't feel like writing 'em out)
(Player) FRCS, PGtoFR, RoFR (Player\DM) F&P (Region Books) SK, SS, UE, Udrk (Softbacks - Region) SM (Soft - Other) LoD, MagFR, MonFR (Soft - Module) CoTSQ, IDL, PoR-AoMD

so there!

 

[Galethorn]

I have a much simpler system.

Books I've used recently go either in my hard-sided briefcase I got at a junk store, or on my desk. Books I haven't used recently go in a lower position in the stack on my desk. As for electronic stuff, I have it all subdivided by game system.

As for physical papers, I actually take the time to hole-punch character sheets, and keep them in a 3-ring binder between sessions.

 

[Psion]

I have two bookcases upstairs (one bedside, one in the closet). Those have books I am reading or reviewing.

Books being used in the game but that I don't need to read go next to the gaming tables downstairs.

Everything else goes into book crates, sorted by company.

 

[Salad Shooter]

My books are arranged like so:

My WW books (in no particular order)

My Rifts rulebook

Random d20 sourcebooks

PHB 3
3 3.5 Corerulebooks in order
MMII
MMIII

And the rest are in a pile somewhere at home...silly lack of shelving at school

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Pretty simply actually: first by publisher then by product title.

 

[diaglo]

First they are orghianized by company and then by alphabet.

ditto.

i also have them organized by edition.

 

[MonsterMash]

I don't actually bother with any specialised organisation scheme, other than putting RPG material together, but as I only have around 30 RPG books to organise. My other books get sorted into fiction/non fiction and non fiction into categories (RPG, history, computing, etc).