Quoted from briyau15:For me right now it’s largely driven by theme without prior game play, which will surely come back to haunt me if it turns out to be a dud.
I absolutely need to play it, and I MUST find the hook in the game.
I have a good sized collection. So a NIB game needs to bring something special to the table. There are a lot of good games that come out, but I won’t buy them because I already have better games. The new game would just be a filler, or a status symbol. And both of those are wasted space. And space is always at a premium in my house.
Great games have a hook. A thing that when it happens, or when I do it, it makes me smile. It HAS to be there, because in my house I’m going to play it hundreds or thousands of times. The only way to find it is to play it.
So theme can influence, but gameplay (which includes rules) is required.
Then the decision comes down to the normal things. Value, space, availability.
Currently I have a Godzilla on order. It fits all the criteria, and the theme is a huge bonus for me. I’ve liked Keith’s other games, but they didn’t quite get me to buy. This one did.