PAX Unplugged is just around the corner, and considering that I haven’t missed attending at least one PAX a year since joining Sprites and Dice in 2016, this announcement comes with many mixed feelings. I will not be attending PAX Unplugged this year (and have already skipped on East). On the one hand, I will of course be saddened not to see friends I rarely get to meet. I will miss wandering the demo tables and marveling at all the clever ideas designers are playing with. Rest assured that the Sprites and Dice team will still be attending to cover games they find there, but my personal decision to skip on PAX stands. You might be asking, “why,” and perhaps more to the point, “why does it matter?”
While it feels strange not to be heading to Philly as the weather grows colder, there is an opportunity here to do something special. I’ve been thinking a lot these days about what makes me happy in this cardboard-filled hobby of ours, the enjoyment of clever design, intent made manifest in cards and chits and little bits of plastic. I’ve also thought a lot about the problems our community faces. Specifically how board gamers love to buy, constantly. Shelves of shame with stuff still in shrink. Games designed to burn bright within just a few plays, knowing that is their window to grab players, let alone perhaps the most they may ever be played. Gamers culling their libraries, letting go of excellent titles because there is simply no more room in their homes. Even my own desire to take a new review stack for 2026 has waned. I want out of this vicious cycle.
But with change comes opportunity. “What if I spent 2026 playing only games already in my library,” I mused. No new purchases. Only me, a year of time, and the the games staring at me from my shelves. Titles I have refused to get rid of despite, in some cases, years going by without even so much as sliding them from their resting places. I might finally get Level 7 Omega Protocol, hailed as a masterwork by many, finally played since it arrived by Kickstarter years ago. I am looking forward to regular games of Twilight Struggle, training a play partner and seeing how deep the cold war rabbit hole goes. I'm excited at the possibility of reviewing a 10+ year old board game. A year of living with my library.
Let me be clear. I still have a little bit of obligation left on last year’s review stack. Specifically, if you know my love for R. Talsorian Games, I need to finish up a very special look at one of their new projects. Though, technically, given the shameful amount of time it’s sat on my shelves I would say that it qualifies for this self-imposed challenge, too.
I invite you to join me on this journey as I spend the next year playing only things I already own. In our hobby, often labeled as being obsessed with “the cult of the new,” it feels exhilarating to be swimming against the current. I’m thrilled to have an excuse to chomp into meatier titles that demand multiple sessions instead of feeling that I need to get my next review title played. I look forward to revisiting old favorites, week after week if I feel like it. Thunder Road Vendetta and its expansions are already claiming that honor. I am thrilled at the idea of playing classics beloved by the community, purchased and then neglected, mere box covers only enhancing the view of my shelves like books bought not to read but to impress household visitors. This next year is going to be a different kind of year. I look forward to taking you along for the ride.
