Frank Filz's Gaming Briefcase Challenge

I've talked before about what print RPG materials I would keep if I had to downsize. I mentioned recently that I could even manage to fit a collection into a briefcase, so I actually tried to do that and this is the result.

A while ago, I did an exercise where I decided to see what I could fit into a briefcase (actually a laptop bag - the briefcase I used to use for gaming would have held more):

I spent about 15 minutes collecting this together, with more time, I would refine it. I really would like a bit more RQ material, and I really should have some graph paper, lined paper, and blank paper in there. There are also some bits I would print off from my computer, and maybe a few other campaign bits I would try to squeeze in. I'd alsqo squeeze in a bit more Traveller stuff.

Now if I just had to fit this into my backpack instead, all of that would be easy since I would be able to fit about twice as much stuff.

So what is here:

OD&D plus the first three supplements
Judges Guild Wilderlands (all the setting booklets, map 1, a poster sized map of all 18 maps with hex grid on one side, no grid on the other)
City State of the Invincible Overlord
First Fantasy Campaign with a TSR color map from the DA modules
Module B1 Into the Unknown
Ready Ref Sheets and Campaign Hexagon System
Burning Wheel Gold and Burning Wheel Codex
Traveller Books 1-3
RuneQuest 1st ed, Cults of Prax, and the map from Troll Pak
Campaign folders for The Wine Dark Rift Traveller, Wilderlands OD&D, and Burning Blackmoor, and a miscellaneous folder with cool stuff in it
A bag of dice and pencils

The picture of the briefcase (actually a laptop case) includes a Traveler DVD case for size comparison, that CD ROM is not actually in the contents.

Now why does all of this matter when I have almost everything in digital form? In one sense the print stuff doesn't matter, but I'm a tactile person, plus I think the stuff one displays on one's shelf helps others understand you. So if I had this stuff tucked into my cubby in some hypothetical tiny living situation (maybe a shared 4 dTon Traveller stateroom), someone would get an instant idea of what I would plan on doing with my time.

Now the meaningfulness of this exercise changes somewhat if a laptop is included and we get to have all the PDFs we want. In that case, of course, PDFs or scans of everything!

Still, to me what is interesting about this exercise is contemplating what I REALLY care about for gaming material. Sure, there's loads of gaming stuff I "might" use someday... I think my thinking about this exercise even before I actually did it really helped me focus my gaming. I'm paying attention to the games I really want to play, and purchasing stuff (mostly PDFs these days) that really support that rather than just buying the latest fancy thing.

Really this exercise was an offshoot of having to downsize my collection after getting engaged. I ruthlessly downsized then (I do regret some stuff I got rid of, but not much) and am still working on downsizing some of the stuff (still have like 6 milk crates of stuff I'm trying to sell).

In the meantime, an incomplete list of physical stuff I've purchased since getting engaged:

Burning Wheel Magic Burner, Adventure Burner, Gold, Codex. Torchbearer, Middermark. Burning Empires. Mouse Guard RPG. (can you see a theme here...)
Classic Traveller CD-ROMs, GURPS Traveller Ships CD-ROM
Mongoose Traveller (1e) hardcover
The Seclusium of the Orphone of the Three Visions (I saw it in a store, I like Vincent Baker, I might draw from it for OD&D gaming)
The Adventurers Handbook (a variant of BRP included in a book on role playing games)
Dungeon board game (found for a pretty reasonable price at Powells Books)
I think that copy of B1 was picked up since getting engaged.

I think there's really just a few other items beyond the above list.

A thread on RPGNet where I discussed this challenge.

Comments to ffilz@mindspring.com

Page last updated February 24, 2003

Return to my home page