My 20 year old board game collection finally let me down last weekend

I pulled out my old Settlers of Catan set from 2004 to teach some new players. The box was held together with tape but I figured the game itself was fine. Got three turns in and realized the wood hex tiles had warped so bad they didn't fit together anymore. Half the development cards had faded to blank white from sitting in a damp basement for 8 years. I ended up trying to use a phone app for the board but it killed the whole vibe. Has anyone else had an old classic just crumble on you mid-game?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly6118d ago

Gonna have to disagree with you here a bit. I think there's something kind of cool about a game that actually shows its age and its history through wear and tear. Those warped tiles and faded cards tell a STORY about all the times you played it, not just that one time it failed you. My 90s copy of Risk has a weird bend in the board and some pieces are literally sharpie drawings on cardboard, but my group actually LOVES that stuff. It gives the game character and makes it feel like an old friend rather than some plastic thing from a factory. I get that you wanted a clean experience for new players, but maybe that worn out look adds more to the vibe than you think.

alice_wilson7318d ago

LOL "half the development cards had faded to blank white" - that's not a board game, that's a modern art piece called "The Ravages of Time." I once pulled out my old Game of Risk from 2007 and found the Australia piece was just... gone. Like it dissolved into the atmosphere while the rest of the world sat there waiting to be conquered. Had to use a bottle cap to represent it the whole game and someone kept trying to trade it for resources.