The Perils Of Sim Collecting

What to do when you're near the end

The Perils Of Sim Collecting

I came across this post on Facebook the other day:

This one really got me thinking, especially in the wake of the untimely passing of well known APBA player Roy Langhans.

The truth, of course, is that each of us will eventually pass on. We don’t necessarily have as much time as we think to play our favorite games and to work on our favorite projects. And, sadly, those who come after us might not recognize the value in the cards and games that we leave behind.

While most non-collectors still recognize that certain baseball cards are worth money, cards from tabletop sims are a different story. The secondary market for some games is very undefined — think about obscure games like Ballpark Baseball, for example, which comes up on eBay only once in a blue moon. For games like APBA, identifying the season older cards are based on can be a daunting task, requiring those inheriting such sets to do a lot more work and research than they might be ready to do. And even for “easier” games like Strat-O-Matic, the number of set variations and the sometimes confusing question of what truly constitutes a “complete” set can be daunting.

My recommendation? Collect only what you play, and offload the rest.

There will always be collectors, of course — and I admit that I now have a collection far larger than I can likely play. However, the last thing we want to see is more perfectly good and playable sets be thrown away.

Let me know what you think.