Ratio of Spending to Gaming

[KB9JMQ]

In 2005 I have bought 4 books ($100), a case of Mini's ($95), and finished off my Abberation rares I needed ($50).
That puts me about $250 for 3 months or $50 behind budget
We have played 6 times (should have been 8 but I has last minute family visits which cancelled gaming since I am the host DM)
So about $42 a session.
That seems high but I am also a collector so getting some of these things was gonna happen whether we played or not.

 

[Brain]

I spend very little on gaming (and in general i'm anti-consumer) and I game 1-5 times a week in person, plus various pbp that are ongoing. Don't have a ratio for you, but the number would be small.

 

[TwistedBishop]

It's been touched on before, but I think it bears repeating. This type of thread, while fun to read, isn't really accurate. You can't just divide hours played into amount spent and come up with a clear "I've overspent" or "I'm on budget" type answer.

Gaming books (and their associated paraphernalia, such as magazines and minis) are part of the hobby of roleplaying gaming, not just tools. Every purchase doesn't have to be slave to the mantra "be useful in my current games, or you're dead weight"

Sure gaming books are designed to let you actually play the game, but in time they grew beyond that original purpose to most of us. Largely they provide enjoyment of reading and ideas, but also, for some, pleasure in collecting ties into that.

Before FanPro ruined Shadowrun, I took great pride in my complete collection of the FASA series. Now, I'll grant you, if you buy books and stick them on a shelf, and never even read them, you've probably wasted your money (as I have on most of my Hunter: The Reckoning books....someday perhaps...someday).

I personally kept buying and reading rpg books even long after my real-life gaming group had faded away. I was lucky enough to find good people online to play with eventually, but even if I hadn't I'd probably still be buying them. It's just the nature of the rpg beast, imo.

 

[Desdichado]

Well, if you're only talking the last six months, I've actually bought very little with the exception of a handle of magazines and Darkness & Dread.

Still, the assumption here is that the only viable output of gaming product is playing sessions. Where's the time spent planning sessions? Where's the time spent simply reading (and presumably enjoying) the book?

 

[Desdichado]

in general i'm anti-consumer

Wow, I'm not sure what that means. I'm tempted to interpret that as either you're 1) very broke or 2) very cheap, or 3) both. But I'm still intrigued on exactly what you mean by being a self-professed anti-consumer.

 

[adwyn]

Let's see, about $120 a month in purchases, including my lead addiction, vs an online game, a weekly game, and twice a month miniature games.

That works out to $12 a session so per hour of entertainment, on par with renting movies.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Let me see, in the last six months I have bought:

Arcana Evolved ($32.99 @ Amazon)
Complete Arcane ($29.95)
Dragon Magazine Subscription ($40)
Experts ($16.96 @ Amazon)
Frostburn ($34.95)
Grim Tales ($23.07 @ Amazon)
Libris Mortis ($29.95)
Masque of the Red Death D20 ($34.99)
Sandstorm ($23.07 @ Amazon)
Sidewinder: Recoiled ($15 @ eBay)
Special Edition Player's Handbook ($75.00)

Total $355.93
Gaming Session in the last 6 months: 81

Average $ per session: $4.40 (w/o snacks & meals)

I'd say that that is pretty good!

 

[fusangite]

As usual, a question that has perfectly clear categories and boundaries for everyone else becomes problematic for me...

I have not purchased any new D20 materials since the publication of the 3.5 core rulebooks. So that would place me at spending $0.00 on materials whose states function is to facilitate gaming in the past six months.

In the same period, I have GMed 6 sessions and played in approximately 20-25.

However, even leaving aside spending on alcohol and food for games (approximately $250 in the past 6 months), there is all my spending on library fines, printing and photocopying reference materials I use for my campaign ($40 in the past 3 months) and printing and photocopying materials I create for my campaing ($40 in the past 3 months).

 

[Belen]

Gaming Session in the last 6 months: 81

Unreal!!!!! How in the world can some of you game so much? Even at my peak, I managed one session a week.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

spent in the last six months: ~$1000
sessions in the last six months: ~55

But some of amount spent was gifts for other gamers and almost 10% of the total amount was spentn on World's Largest Dungeon so we could play it.