Why I Almost Culled Star Realms

The afternoon at a board game café that saved a resale listing

My Star Realms Universal Storage Box

I almost listed my Star Realms Big Box for sale this week.

The logic was solid: I own the app and I play mostly on it, while the physical copy hasn’t moved in months.

Then something unexpected happened.

Last Sunday, Pasquale and I took our kids to a board game café. While they were off doing their own thing, I pulled a giant box out of my backpack. I’d brought my copy of Star Realms (complete with the Universal Storage Box and a bunch of expansions) on a gut feeling. Something told me he’d like it, and he did! We played two games back to back, winning one each. He kept stopping to call out a particularly effective move or say something about the artwork. Gut feeling confirmed. By the time we left, I’d already crossed “sell Star Realms” off my mental list.

This is why I’m often reluctant to buy the digital version of a game I already own physically. The reason is pretty specific: when the app is faster or more convenient to set up, it starts to crowd out the physical copy. Plus, it’s always there at 11pm when no one else is around. So you end up having a box sitting on your shelf, staring at you while you keep ignoring it.

When I got the Star Realms app, I told myself it would be fine. Just a way to play solo late at night, or maybe a way to play with others when no one was around. Famous last words.

I know how this goes because it happened with Lords of Waterdeep.

I bought the physical copy first, played it plenty, loved it. Then I got the app. Now the box sits in its spot, probably a little offended. I won’t sell it. I like the game too much and I keep telling myself I’ll bring it back to the table. But honestly, the app took over in a scarily effortless way and I barely noticed until I started thinking about this post.

A few months ago, I wrote an article where I worked through this with these same games and decided to keep them. Star Realms almost made me change my mind.

The culling question I’ve always used is “do I play this?” As simple and practical as it sounds, when there’s a digital version in the mix, the answer is almost always “yes, but on the app”. This tells you almost nothing about whether the box deserves to stay.

I don’t have a clean answer for this. Maybe the right question is “would I miss playing this physically?” Or maybe it’s simpler than that: is there someone who’d actually want to sit across from me for it?

Star Realms has that. Sunday reminded me. I even ordered a second playmat since then. More room for the next game. Lords of Waterdeep... I don't know yet but I'll keep it for a while longer.

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Has a digital version ever quietly replaced a physical one in your collection?

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Marco Doria writes The Gentle Meeple. He works as an editorial manager and consults on content operations at marcodoria.consulting.