Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="billd91" data-source="post: 9579084" data-attributes="member: 3400">Yeah, I can't help but think inflation is a big deal in some of these issues. When I bought my 1e Player's Handbook in 1981, I paid $11 for it. That's $37 in 2024 dollars. That may be less than the current $50, but it was also a lot smaller and, by the rules, had a lot less game in it. The DMG, which was $15, comes in at $51 in 2024 dollars. That's right on the current price.But I can't help but think of the components issue. Would I spend more to have a mounted board? I sure as hell would! I want the games I spend my hard earned cash on to have good, sturdy components that will stand up a little wear. Fiddly bits like customized playing pieces - those are nice to a point (though it's possible to go overboard). I like custom ones better than super generic ones that could have been bought at a general game supply store - like printed tokens over blank, colored mini-poker chips. The little colored wooden blocks used represent different colonial products/resources in Puerto Rico - great! Something distinctive can help the game experience.To illustrate a couple of choices - consider the crayon rail games Euro Rail, Nippon Rail, Empire Builder, etc. Nippon Rail was one of the first to be shipped in plastic tubes with a laminated map instead of a mounted map board. That worked OK. But one shortcut or cost cutter was not including a deck of the demand cards. It had a laminated sheet with the same info as the demand cards and dice. You rolled to select the card - when fulfilled, you marked it off and rerolled if it came up again. That may have been cheaper, but it was a much less pleasurable aspect of the game and most other versions, even in the plastic tubes, went back to including cards. That may have been more expensive, but it feels like it has value to me as a player.</blockquote>

Verification