Santa, it is hard to rank my selections
... I tried but began to think they would all be welcomed in my collection, 2s are games that I will likely buy sooner... I added a few more games to hopefully help you. I forgot to mention I do not mind getting used games as long as they are in good condition with all parts accounted for and playable.
I started gaming in the mid-70s when my brother and some of his friends needed to beat up on someone playing Panzer Leader.
I used to frequent my local FLGS on Coronado Island in San Diego, Ed's Hobby and Model shop (in 1975/7 he was on 10th and B Ave IIRC, then he moved to Orange Ave in the early 80s). This was my first experience with war gaming and miniatures. Having loved Star Wars, Star Trek and Space 1999 I gravitated to the sci-fi genre games and miniatures.
It seemed that Ed and one of the employees were always playing a war game of some kind. I vividly remember seeing saw horses overlaid with plywood to support huge maps. Little did I know I would enjoy the hobby so much more when older... His shop had a big impact on me with all the military games, models and miniatures. (
If anyone knows of Ed's shop or where he is today send me a geek mail)
Monopoly and Risk were standard family fare but my brother kept the conflict games coming. Arab-Israeli Wars, Tobruk, Luftwaffe, Submarine, 7th Fleet and many others.
I started collecting Metagames and Steve Jackson's Car Wars myself. The solo Fantasy Trip games were great for the closet geek I was. I also started collecting some D&D or Ral Partha miniatures to paint.
It wasn't until I got into my 30s that I started doing some hardcore miniatures collecting. I had found shops carrying the Warhammer Fantasy lines... Then I went to Clan War and to whatever appealed to me.
About 3 years ago I started making more money so quickly grew my game collection. I am patiently waiting for my kids to grow a little older so we can all play together. My wife is not too interested in conflict/war gaming but will play games like Ticket to Ride and thought strategy games.
Now I am collecting WWII miniatures in 10mm/n-scale and 15mm. This is mainly to play Memoir'44 with more table appeal.
I have also been collecting Langton miniatures in the hopes of getting a second printing of Flying Colors. Need to get a 1.5 hex mat from Hotzmatz...
Much more to mention but this is a good start...
