Favorite games & how much do you spend?

**bjl584** · 03-29-2013, 04:30 AM

I just bought a new PC and upgraded the graphics card. That was about $1000 for everything. So far all that I've bought is the new Simcity. I've played it for a few hours. It's a great time killer at night before bed.

**MonkeyMama** · 03-29-2013, 05:33 AM

My dh is a big-time gamer. Mario and Final Fantasy and on and on and on.

That said, we don't spend a lot of money on this stuff.

Games have traditionally been rented or bought used. Rentals run around $20/month (or maybe less) for unlimited game rentals. For the last decade or so we had unlimited game rentals through our Blockbuster (movie rental service), so technically was not an extra charge. For most of that time it was pretty unlimited. Before that was maybe $15/month for a game rental service.

Today we don't have a rental service, but you can get all sorts of stuff online, Amazon, etc. for pennies. My spouse just spent $6 on some "pay what you want - it all goes to charity" game bundle. I was just literally asking him what the charge was for last night, but the kids had made a similar purchase and so they were talking about it a few months ago.

As far as game systems - I think we have them all except the XBOX. Our strategy is to buy new with free money (Credit card rewards). Get our hands on limited systems like the Wii when it came out, and sell it at crazy inflated price on the resale market. Rebuy later when prices are below retail. (Takes some patience, and being willing to wait in line overnight to be the first to get at retail). Also, just buy good used bundles and sell off the games. WE bought a Wii for both our parents, so the kids could use at their house. They were essentially free, but used. Dh sold off all the games and accessories that came with the systems, to essentially made them free. Of course, after doing that for many years, he has always kept all the best stuff for himself. He also has some crazy high credit at the resale store from selling them everything that is harder to sell on Ebay or Craigslist. Our local resale shop (music/games) just started taking books. So my dh is clearing out books and exchanging them for games.

If we insisted on buying everything new/retail, it would have been thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. As is, we have a -0- line item in our budget. A lot of these games make more sense to rent or just to buy and sell used, as they are a "play through it once" kind of thing.

P.S. There are just some *amazing* games out there these days when it comes to kids. Like Little Big Planet. I am personally not a big game person, but some of them have just been amazing on the creativity side, for kids. Oh, and how could I forget Minecraft? Minecraft 24/7 in my house (the kids).

**disneysteve** · 03-29-2013, 05:59 AM

I play several games on my iPhone and on facebook. All are free. Most have options to buy additional coins and stuff with real money but I have no idea why anyone would do that.

**Jimhassel** · 03-29-2013, 08:49 AM

Though I am not a hardcore game player, I mostly play free games downloaded in my PC and mobile whenever I like. That's why there is no need to spend much on that.

**phantom** · 03-29-2013, 03:02 PM

I play more board games than video games. My husband and I have a few friends with collections of hundreds of games, so we never really have to buy any ourselves. Although, when we come across something we really like, one of us might buy it for the other as a Christmas or birthday gift. We probably spend less than $100 a year on new board games purchased as gifts.

My all time favorite board game is go, but I go through periods where I take breaks from it, and I'm taking a break right now. It's possible to play online for free. But, when I was really active and had lots of time on my hands, I could easily spend a few hundred dollars traveling to tournaments during the course of a year. Then there's the cost of nice equipment. I already have all the equipment I'll ever need to enjoy the game. But, I'd still really like to get a nice floor board with a set of slate and shell stones someday, and those can cost a few thousand dollars.

As for video games, my husband and I have an NES, a Wii, 2 PS2s, a PS3, and our computers. We mostly play old favorites that we've had for years. (Bubble Bobble in all its 8-bit glory on an HD TV is awesome!) We tend to buy a handful of used games each year whenever we want to try something different. Like the board games, these are usually gifts to each other, and our spending usually stays under $100 per year.

My husband recently got hooked on League of Legends. It's free to play, but there is an option of paying for content. I think it's unlikely that he's going to feel the need to spend any money on it, but if he continues to enjoy it, he might buy something just as a way to say thanks to the developers.

**Mr Nice Guy** · 03-30-2013, 08:19 AM

I just bought this old computer game online from a game-hosting website called Steam for $5. The game is called Railroad Tycoon 2. I think it came out in 1998.

Its a sweet game, probably what gamers would call Real Time Strategy. Its got a heavy business aspect to it because you deal with stocks, dividends, working capital, bonds and commodities. Havent really got into it yet because it is complicated but that tells me it is well-developed.

**mekap04** · 03-30-2013, 03:42 PM

I play games on Xbox 360 with my son and also my friends. I spend at least $50 a month on games for him and then I spend $25 every 3 months for the Xbox Live membership. That's about it.

**humandraydel** · 03-31-2013, 04:00 AM

I'm probably considered a "gamer". I have a gaming PC and a PS3. I don't subscribe to any games, but I used to spend an average of $20-30 a month on video games. I spend less now, because I have too many games in my backlog.

The game that's eating my time now is Anno 2070 - basically a futuristic Sim City.

Favorite games & how much do you spend?