Tabletop Together
Every board gamer has one.
Some of us have a shelf.
Some of us have an entire bookcase.
And some of us have reached the point where we're probably better off not discussing it.
I'm talking about the infamous Board Game Shelf of Shame.
You know the games I'm talking about.
You researched them.
You watched reviews.
You watched somebody on YouTube explain why this was absolutely one of the best games they've played all year.
You found it on sale.
You convinced yourself:
"We're definitely playing this one this weekend."
The box arrives.
You open it.
You punch out all the cardboard.
You organize the cards.
Maybe you even put everything into little bags because you're responsible like that.
You read the rulebook.
You watch a 37-minute "How to Play" video because somehow the rulebook made everything even more confusing.
You're ready.
Then you ask your gaming group:
"Who wants to play?"
Silence.
Six months later...
That beautiful game is still sitting on the shelf.
Watching you.
Judging you.
And somehow, despite having 14 games you haven't played yet...
You buy another one.
Welcome to board gaming.
What Exactly Is the "Shelf of Shame"?
If you're newer to the tabletop gaming hobby, the Shelf of Shame is the affectionate term board gamers use for all those games sitting in our collections that we own but haven't actually played yet.
Some people prefer the much more optimistic term "Shelf of Opportunity."
I respect the positivity.
But let's be honest.
When that game has been sitting there for two years still wrapped in plastic...
It's starting to feel a little shameful.
The funny thing is that this isn't unusual.
Board gaming is one of those hobbies where collecting and playing can almost become two separate hobbies.
Discovering new games is fun.
Researching games is fun.
Walking through a local game store and finding something you've never seen before is fun.
Opening a giant box filled with miniatures, cards, dice, tokens and enough cardboard to construct a small house is fun.
But eventually we're supposed to actually...
play the games.
And that's where things get complicated.
1. Finding Enough Players Can Be Hard
This is probably one of the biggest reasons games end up collecting dust.
You find an amazing four-player game.
Unfortunately, you currently have...
Two players.
Or maybe you have six friends who like board games, but getting four of them into the same room on the same night apparently requires coordinating the planets.
There are games sitting on shelves everywhere simply because their owners can't find the right group to play them.
And the frustrating part?
There's probably someone a few miles away staring at the exact same game thinking:
"I wish I had someone who wanted to play this."
Neither person knows the other exists.
That's a problem.
2. Scheduling Adults Is the Hardest Strategy Game Ever Made
Forget Brass: Birmingham.
Forget Twilight Imperium.
Forget trying to figure out your next move in a heavy Euro.
The most difficult strategy game ever created is:
Getting four adults together on the same Saturday.
Player One:
"I'm free Saturday!"
Player Two:
"I work Saturday."
Player Three:
"I can do Sunday."
Player Four:
"I'm free next weekend."
Okay.
Next weekend.
Player One:
"Actually, something came up."
And there goes another month.
Life happens.
Work happens.
Kids happen.
Appointments happen.
People move.
Schedules change.
Before you know it, that game you were excited about has been sitting untouched for six months.
3. Your Gaming Group Doesn't Like the Same Games You Do
This one hurts.
You love strategic games.
Your friends love party games.
You love dungeon crawlers.
Your group loves deck builders.
You desperately want to play Unmatched.
Your friend would rather play literally anything except Unmatched because they're tired of you winning.
Hypothetically, of course.
One of the interesting things about tabletop gaming is just how enormous the hobby has become.
There are:
Strategy games
Cooperative games
Party games
Deck builders
Dungeon crawlers
Social deduction games
Trading card games
Miniature games
RPGs
War games
Legacy games
Two-player games
Campaign games
Finding people who like board games isn't always enough.
Sometimes you need to find people who like your kind of board games.
4. "It Takes HOW Long?"
We've all done this.
You see an incredible game.
Beautiful miniatures.
Amazing artwork.
Epic campaign.
Hundreds of cards.
You buy it.
Then someone asks:
"How long does it take?"
You look at the box.
180–360 minutes.
Suddenly everybody remembers they have somewhere to be.
Some of the best tabletop games require a serious time commitment.
That's not necessarily a bad thing.
There's something amazing about spending an entire afternoon immersed in a huge tabletop experience.
But getting everyone to commit six hours?
That's another story.
And back to the shelf it goes.
5. Teaching Games Can Be Intimidating
Sometimes you finally get everyone together.
Then comes the sentence nobody wants to hear:
"Okay, who's explaining the rules?"
Everyone suddenly becomes very interested in their phone.
Teaching a complicated board game is practically a skill of its own.
You need to understand the game well enough to explain it without reading the entire rulebook out loud.
And nothing kills excitement faster than:
"Wait... I think we've been playing this wrong for the last hour."
Sometimes a game stays on the shelf simply because nobody wants to be the person responsible for teaching it.
6. It Was On Sale
This might be the most dangerous sentence in board gaming:
"But it was 40% off!"
Did you need it?
No.
Did you have anyone to play it with?
Also no.
Do you already have three similar games?
Absolutely.
But...
40% OFF.
At that point you're basically losing money if you DON'T buy it.
At least that's what we tell ourselves.
7. Kickstarter Got Us Again
Then there's crowdfunding.
You see the campaign.
Base game.
Expansion.
Miniatures.
Deluxe components.
Metal coins.
Playmat.
Exclusive character.
Stretch goals.
Suddenly you're $250 deep into a game that doesn't even exist yet.
Two years later, a box roughly the size of a washing machine appears at your front door.
You open it.
It's glorious.
Then you realize:
"Where am I going to put this?"
Shelf of Shame:
"I'll make room."
8. Sometimes Collecting IS Part of the Hobby
Here's where I'll defend us a little.
There's nothing wrong with collecting board games.
Some people collect:
Comics
Sneakers
Records
Watches
Action figures
Video games
We collect cardboard.
And apparently increasingly elaborate plastic miniatures.
There's something genuinely enjoyable about building a board game collection.
You look at your shelf and remember:
"That game was hilarious."
"We played that one all night."
"That's the game my wife always beats me at."
"This one nearly ended a friendship."
The collection itself becomes a record of memories.
So having some unplayed games isn't necessarily a problem.
Unless...
You really WANT to play them.
9. New Games Keep Distracting Us
You've finally decided:
This weekend we're playing that game that's been sitting on the shelf for eight months.
Then someone walks in.
"Hey, I bought something new."
Everyone:
👀
And your poor neglected game quietly slides another week down the calendar.
There's always something new coming out in tabletop gaming.
New releases.
New expansions.
New Kickstarter deliveries.
New games someone discovered at the local game store.
It's one of the best things about the hobby.
It's also terrible news for the Shelf of Shame.
10. Sometimes You Just Haven't Found Your Table Yet
This is the one that matters most to me.
Sometimes the problem isn't the game.
Sometimes it isn't your schedule.
Sometimes you simply haven't found your people yet.
Maybe you moved to a new city.
Maybe your old gaming group doesn't meet anymore.
Maybe you're just getting into tabletop gaming.
Maybe your friends aren't interested in the games you like.
Or maybe you've been wanting to walk into a local game night but haven't worked up the courage yet.
Finding the right gaming group can completely change this hobby.
Suddenly those games start coming off the shelf.
Game nights become regular.
You discover games you never would've tried before.
You meet people you never would've met otherwise.
And sometimes those people become real friends.
That's what makes tabletop gaming special.
Somewhere Nearby, Someone Probably Wants to Play That Game
Think about this for a second.
Look at your Shelf of Shame.
Pick one game.
There's a decent chance someone in your city would love to play it.
Maybe they've been wanting to try it for years.
Maybe they own it too.
Maybe they're new to town and looking for a gaming group.
Maybe their friends aren't interested either.
Maybe they're sitting at home looking at the exact same box thinking:
"I wish I knew someone who wanted to play this."
The problem isn't always finding a great game.
Sometimes it's finding the right people.
That's One of the Reasons We're Building Tabletop Together
This exact problem is a huge part of why we're creating Tabletop Together.
We're not trying to convince people to spend more time staring at another social media app.
We want to use technology to help people actually meet.
Play games.
Laugh.
Compete.
Make friends.
And get some of those games off the Shelf of Shame.
Our goal is to make it easier to:
🎲 Find local tabletop gamers.
🎯 Connect with people who enjoy the same games.
📅 Discover and organize game nights.
🏪 Find local game stores and community events.
🤝 Build gaming groups and friendships.
Because finding someone who likes board games is great.
Finding someone who looks at that weird game that's been sitting untouched on your shelf for two years and says...
"WAIT. YOU HAVE THAT?! I'VE BEEN WANTING TO PLAY THAT!"
That's even better.
So What's Sitting on Your Shelf?
Now we want to hear from you.
What's THE GAME on your Shelf of Shame?
The one you've been dying to play.
The one you've owned forever.
The one your current group refuses to touch.
The giant Kickstarter box that's slowly becoming furniture.
Tell us.
Because there's probably someone else out there who wants to play it too.
And maybe you just haven't met them yet.
That's exactly what we want to change.
Let us help you Find Your Table—with someone who might just like that game. 🎲
Tabletop Together
Find Your Table. Build Your Community.