The Ups and Downs of 'Hauls' | Or Convention Consumerism & Social Media

#LiegeOfGames #boardgames

Do you know what I'm talking about? Conventions "hauls" are all the rage. Whether its listing them out on BoardGameGeek or posting a picture of your swag on the socials. But....how do these effect us and are they really as good or innocent as they appear? Looking at it in 2 parts today for discussion.
Thanks for watching!

[dalerancourt]

nothing wrong with getting things for free, but when reviewed it should be mentioned, so viewers can decide if the review could be biased.😃

[MrDJCoulton]

I love these discussions video. I feel like there's more to talk about in this hobby other than what's the latest and greatest games

[Mepper.]

Here's a topic for you: How many of the "hot" games from Gen Con or Essen Spiel are still being talked about one year later?

[iqweaver]

So much of the haul / shelfie stuff is vanity or boastful materialism. Look at me, look at me, praise me; tell me how well I've done and how good my collection is.

[Mepper.]

I watched a Gen Con haul video yesterday that was the first to actually shock me... The guy had picked up 60-70 games, repeatedly saying how hard he worked to get all of them. He mentioned getting the "influencer" swag bag, so I don't know how many he paid for. His youtube channel had just over 600 subscribers. He had very few small games so I'm estimating an average price of at least $40. That would put the cost of the haul well north of $2, 000 and it could have been over $3, 000. Travel, lodging, and food could easily add up to an additional $2, 000. The only way it works economically is if you can write off the whole amount as a business expense.

[matthewcolwell]

Don't forget going to a con can cost more than shipping for a crowdfunding project

[Twineandribbon]

Fun video but you should really go to a con just for fun some time, to experience the ambience and energy. It doesn’t have to be a board game con. If you’ve got a local anime or comic con just give it a go for one day and it’ll be very similar to gen con. A lot of geek stuff translates. I think you and I are really similar in that logically it feels like it doesn’t make sense, but there are facets to the experience which are hard to quantify just like seeing a Mountain or Ocean in person is different than seeing a picture of it or reading about it. I live in Indy so I get to pop in to gen con for much cheaper than those who have to travel, and I still prefer crowdfunding as the main source of my games. The con does offer Hype as a factor, but another major benefit is getting to play test games I’m unsure on. Would never have bought Caverna without a game demo and it’s one of my favorite games from a con a while back. People sharing their massive hauls online doesn’t bother me in the least but I’m not bothered by big crowdfunding projects either. C’est la vie.

[terrencemiltner]

I get what you are laying down. At the end of the day, people get to choose how to spend their time and money. I have been to GenCon, many times. Yes, it's fun to see what will be new in gaming in the coming year. I have seen people hustle hard for the advance copies, convention exclusives, and other freebies. I have even been that person a couple times. Some of my friends paid for a good chunk of their convention experience by flipping those premiums on ebay. Going to a game convention is some next level hobby stuff. So yeah, there is some FOMO, also known as Marketing. If you see the hauls and have a reaction, that is your reaction. You are entitled to it. But when you try to ascribe motivation to them, you might be out of your lane a little.
Will I go to a game convention again? Absolutely. But this year, there was no game reason to go, nothing so new I had to be there to see. The revival of KeyForge and launch of SolForge Fusion came up a bit too late to pivot and make the trip, though some friends of mine did for a Thursday only trip. I have been to a bunch of cons this year already. But those big big shows? Yeah, I just don't feel the need to assume the risk in the tail end of a pandemic. Same reasons I did not make a trip downtown for C2E2. Sure I like comics and media. But there was no compelling reason to go so I stayed out of the crowd.
If you want to see some next level expensive gaming, check out Adepticon. Minis gaming is exponentially more expensive than board gaming. And people fly from around the world to attend and spend hundreds, if not thousands, on their army plus more for paints and hobby supplies.

[mikeysboardroom]

Not to mention all the costs of attending the convention in the first place. Hotel, cost of travel, tickets, etc. That alone is the cost of a big box game or two on Kickstarter

[bahasainggeris]

I'm with you Chris! I just bought 19 games for $55. I have no problem waiting a few years to save hundreds of $$$. I'm not sure why people think an older game (not THE HOT ones) is bad. If I haven't seen a 2017 movie, I'll get the same experience when I do watch it in 2022 that I would have in 2017 (minus the theater experience which I don't enjoy). Games are the same.

I think a benefit of waiting (beside saving money) is that games reveal their true nature after the hype has sublimated. If the game is good, it'll be good 3 years later. If it had problems, it gets forgotten or reworked in a year and the new version is 'hot' for another year or two.

I was an original backer of Middara and I STILL haven't received the entire game (they reworked it with version 1.1 and again with 1.2)!!! STILL waiting for everything to arrive (they only shipped the first part of the Pirates of Elenia expansion and now have reworked that and even changed the name)!!

The bottom line is that companies will do whatever backers allow. You'll pay for a 1.1 and 1.2 revision? Expect a 1.3.

Anyway, thanks for doing the subjects you do. Thanks for asking question gamers should be thinking about (do I REALLY need this game when I have 4 others just like it I haven't played yet?). Fear is probably the biggest motivator and companies are capitalizing on its use. Sit back, take a deep breath, wait, and then buy at a discount. ;)

[MrSomebunny]

Love the discussion videos. Another topic I think about all the time is: do we need sequels to games that aren’t campaign/legacy games?

Why do we need a burgle bros and a burgle bros 2? Burgle bros 1 is incredible, why is there a burgle bros 2 when it’s nearly the exact same game?

Why is there so many variants for railroad Inc?

Why are there 10 different episodes in Final Girl when they’re all almost identical (apart from the theme)

The cash grab way game creators are building their games now in this “micro transaction” way is very frustrating. They think variability is equivalent to replay-ability and it’s honestly killing the industry. Quantity over quality. Fomo over making good games.

This trend sucks.

[blueseqperl]

I typically buy 2 to 3 games or expansions when I go to conventions.

[Slyfox]

They do the same thing with reviews and previews .. I’m burnt out in those channels ..

[bjj_]

Wait a minute, Ahoy is already released? It was still in development less than a month ago

[raphaelstocker]

Some conventions like GenCon and Spiel often are more about selling board games rather than playing them (probably due to the sheer size of these cons). Anyways, I skip these haul videos/plays anyways

[timraley]

Agree with you. The parade of "LOOK I GOT ARES EXPEDITION AT TARGET ON CLEARANCE" from dozens, if not hundreds of people on these threads over a good three-month span was part of this as well.

[opperhoofdrampeneer]

Just found your channel, really liking your content, and then I find out your DUTCH?
Man oh man, wat kan de wereld klein zijn. ;)
Just my take on this whole I find that a lot of people in the hobby seem to have fairly big predisposition to addiction behaviors.
These haul pictures and videos should be viewed trough a more critical lens. Excellent video, and instantly subbed!

[S.L.INK.]

Giving stuff to creators is probably the best advertising publishers can do. So it makes sense, the downside i see is that copies are super limited and people that paid to get there and are exited for these games dont get the chance to get it because copies are given to reviewers.
I dont mind haul pics that much because i dont plan to buy that many games so its good to see what people are getting and what people are exited about.
The worst thing about these major cons is the crowdfunded games, games that people backed and footed the bill for that print run and publishers air mail copies to gencon so the elites of the hobby can get it months before the people that allowed the thing to exist in the first place.

[pecktec]

I can say as a person who is ignored by all companies big and small for game promotions I always wonder if the creators paid anything. I’m mostly jealous of getting it early because by the time I get a game there are 20 other videos about it. The one Gen Con I went to I spent about 500 bucks and yes made a haul video myself but I was on vacation and gave myself permission to buy a bunch of things I didn’t have. In the end I did pay way too much for a couple of the titles though.

[seanbester]

On the one hand, I'm glad I'll seemingly never run out of new games to play because my shelves are stacked. On the other hand, I hate my friends for having kids because I'm likely never going to play a bunch of them.