Less Books. More Gaming. Part #1

Less Books. More Gaming. Its sounds contradictory but one of things I've noticed over the years is that often the more books (or PDF's, same difference) we buy and are in play, the less actual play we do.

This topic is of course discussed at length in Barry Schwartz's book of the Paradox of Choice but as for our little niche well what I think happens gaming wise is this ...

We start buying books to make up for not gaming then we get caught up in reading and assessing the game material instead of using it in a game. In time this effects our actual gaming making it harder to settle down and actually game .. Vicious Circle

Breaking this cycle is tricky.


1st -- Read the books you have. Just one mans opinion but no game book should go unread. And yes in case anyone asks, I often let my books linger unread. Mea Culpa. Just read them before you buy more.

2nd -- After you read your books , use them before you buy more.

3rd -- Heck I'll go as far as to say unless you are a collector of a line or want to support a favorite company or co-hobbyist, (like some of our friends in the OSR and Pathfinder communities) don't buy books unless you know how you are going to use them.

4th Resist the urge to fiddle and settle for good enough. Yes there may be a cool rule or two in that shiny shiny book. Resist. Use the rule you have that are good enough to get the job done.

5th Last, consider making a compendium for the campaign containing what extra rules you plan to use in games. use this, the core books you need and nothing else .


And there you have it, 5 tricks to decrease the Tyranny of Choice, reduce clutter and help get down to actual play.

Feel free to suggest your tricks as well.