Boardgames. I like them. Do you like them? You should like them. They’re fun!
What about helping out others in need? Do you like that? You should like that. It’s, well, not so much fun as, I guess, rewarding. And the right thing to do.
Assuming you answered yes to at least one of the above two questions, then you probably should check out the The Jack Vasel Memorial Fund Auction 2017 on boardgamegeek.com. The short version is that it’s a charity auction used to raise money for members of the gaming community who are suffering a personal hardship. It’s a community auction, meaning that anyone is free to offer up things to be auctioned. And lots of cool stuff is being offered up. You should go through the list yourself, since your idea of cool and my idea of cool may not overlap, but here is just a sample:
- A set of the Keyflower promo tiles If you like Keyflower, you should have these. If you don’t like Keyflower, you’re weird. :)
- Speaking of Keyflower, the latest game in the Key- series is also available: Keyper. I played it in Essen last month and bought it there. I recommend it!
- A signed advance copy of the Scythe Legendary Box (or perhaps you would prefer the Scythe Collector’s Edition from Kickstarter)
- Among Nobles – I got this game a few years ago at Essen and quite like it. The bidding for it is still pretty low!
- First Martians (or maybe the bidding is lower for this copy of it) (or even this copy) (or maybe you want the pre-order version!)
- A Feast For Odin
- Dead of Winter mega-bundle
- Terraforming Mars: Venus Next
- Indian Summer or Cottage Garden
- Gloomhaven
- Clans of Caledonia (I picked this game up at Essen this year — it looks great!)
- Anachrony
- T.I.M.E. Stories bundle — if you haven’t already played through the included stories, this is a good deal at the current bid level.
- A rare Cosmic Encounter promo card
- A Ticket To Ride map bundle, including the not-yet-available-in-the-US France/Old West map.
- 7 Wonders Duel bundle
- Bottom of the 9th (plus extras)
- Alien Frontiers Big Box
- Wasteland Delivery Service
- Lovecraft Letter (Love Letter + Cthulhu)
- Saboteur and its expansion – A fun, light hidden role game. I recommend it (get the expansion too)!
- A personalized by secret selection of games from coolstuffinc (or if the bidding for that one is too rich for your blood, here is another one)
- A box of mystery games! (or maybe this mystery box is at a more tempting price) (or this one!)
For some of these (especially the more hyped items), you won’t be getting a great bargain — but you can feel good about overpaying, since it all goes to charity. Also, be sure to read the description an item carefully before bidding on it — sometimes the thing being auctioned isn’t actually the game itself, but instead something related to the game.
The auction ends November 14th.
