Monday 27 January 2014

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer

Annual BGG and Consim World support drives

At this time of year I sit down and figure out how much money I haven't got and then I divide it up and give it away. Oh yes, I have a low threshold for the annual exercises by my favored charities (Oxfam and British Red Cross amongst them). Given the Syria problem I may well be revisiting these charities soon. On a happier note I also fall for the annual supporter drives for my favourite websites: Board Game Geek and Consim World.  

The BGG supporter drive is very worthwhile and this year I believe secured some 10,000+ donations. Apart from a warm feeling for having supported such a worthwhile cause (at least in wargame terms) you get some Geekgold (I'm not sure what you can actually spend it on) and a supporter badge on your BGG avatar. As I use BGG almost on a daily basis, a small donation every year is a great investment.

I also use Consim News on a daily basis and this year have made a donation to keep it going. I'm very pleased to say that Consim World does reward its donors most substantially. This year donors received a number of free games with Gold supporters finding the following in their e-mail:


The Battle of AP Bac by High Flying Dice Games
Anzio by Saxon Games

Braddock's Defeat by White Dog Games

Fairfax's Revenge from TCS Games

To Hell with Spain, an Infantry Attacks module from Avalanche Press
These are all print and play games and they all look pretty good. I'm a sucker for the TCS series of ECW games so Fairfax is a great addition as is Ap Bac. Good all round for supporters and for the contributing games publishers. 

At the end of the day, you have to take a balanced approach to things. I support certain charities because I believe it helps others in times of crisis. I support my board game resources because I think that society, at least the wargaming bit, would be poorer without them. I don't equate one with the other and so far can manage to do both. If I couldn't the choice would be easy, I have too many games anyway.

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