Avoiding Temptation
Well, played with Marvel HeroClix for the first time last night, and I have to admit that I had a lot of fun playing it. For the uninformed, it's a collectible miniature game featuring characters from the Marvel superhero universe. Take your favorite characters, make a team worth a certain number of points, and clobber your opponent's team. From Dennis's collection I used part of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants - Magneto, Juggernaut, Quicksilver, Pyro, and the Scarlet Witch - and proceeded to inflict mass thrashings on the other 3 teams, which had been at each others' throats for most of the game.
However, as much as I liked the game, I'm not buying any. It's not that it's not a quality game, really. There are two reasons:
1. I can only support so many gaming habits. Between RPGs (mostly D&D and other d20 games) and the L5R card game, my gaming budget is stretched as tightly as I can stretch it, and I really don't need to devote more money to that hobby. I get what I need, and a few things I don't, and I'm content with that.
2. I think it'll be like every other fad we have. I have 2 long boxes (and a bit more) of Shadowfist that're just sitting around, despite the fact that several months ago, Dan and Dennis were big into Shadowfist. I'd have boxes of more games that I've accumulated over the years, but I tossed several boxes a while back because, frankly, no one was playing any more. If I buy into HeroClix, I fear that I'll end up with a couple of boxes of plastic superhero minis just gathering dust, and the extra money devoted to them will have gone down the Drain of Forgotten Fads.
So, if people want me to play, I'll just ask to use figs from their collections. I know that they're all going in together to buy a case of boosters soon, so there will be more than enough extra figures floating around. Heck, maybe I can even get their cast-offs if they start pulling too many extras. I'd only want a few, really - the Brotherhood, a few X-Men, a Wolverine, and an Elektra. No sense buying tons of boosters if I'm only looking for those.
However, as much as I liked the game, I'm not buying any. It's not that it's not a quality game, really. There are two reasons:
1. I can only support so many gaming habits. Between RPGs (mostly D&D and other d20 games) and the L5R card game, my gaming budget is stretched as tightly as I can stretch it, and I really don't need to devote more money to that hobby. I get what I need, and a few things I don't, and I'm content with that.
2. I think it'll be like every other fad we have. I have 2 long boxes (and a bit more) of Shadowfist that're just sitting around, despite the fact that several months ago, Dan and Dennis were big into Shadowfist. I'd have boxes of more games that I've accumulated over the years, but I tossed several boxes a while back because, frankly, no one was playing any more. If I buy into HeroClix, I fear that I'll end up with a couple of boxes of plastic superhero minis just gathering dust, and the extra money devoted to them will have gone down the Drain of Forgotten Fads.
So, if people want me to play, I'll just ask to use figs from their collections. I know that they're all going in together to buy a case of boosters soon, so there will be more than enough extra figures floating around. Heck, maybe I can even get their cast-offs if they start pulling too many extras. I'd only want a few, really - the Brotherhood, a few X-Men, a Wolverine, and an Elektra. No sense buying tons of boosters if I'm only looking for those.