Well most of what they make today is CRAP .... so ... not worrying about it.

Message:

First, if you haven't noticed, the price of games has gone up considerably in the past few years.

And, the price of shipping has gone through the roof for various reasons.

I bought a $4 kickstart item and when the shipping came due, it was $40 for shipping alone. Surprise. (I told them to keep it.)

The hobby has become "who can have the beautiful boxes behind them" activity. Gamers play the latest thing for a few weeks and then replace it with the next thing. Most won't try a game from a few years back because it's not as glitzy. Now, with 800 unique 3D printed skulps.

HEAT, Pedal to the Metal is one of the latest gamer favorites. (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/366013/heat-pedal-to-the-metal)

It's $75 on Amazon and it's big, boardy, and glitzy. It's about the 100th race cars around the track game I've seen in 30 years. The kids seem to like it. It's nothing special and to be honest, not that pretty. (The box is glorious.)

A hamburger from Macs was 19 cents when we were buying $5-10 Avalon Hill / SPI titles (Wizard's Quest, Blitzkrieg, Gettysburg, Freedom in the Galaxy.) LBB Traveller was $12.

A hamburger is ~$2 now. So, a factor of 10.

LBB Traveller would be $120 now. And, Squad Leader would be about $80.

Heat would have been $8 in the day and we would have paid it gladly.

We would have made it with poster board, markers, and our brother's hot wheels cars and it would have cost nothing. (We would have eventually mounted flame throwers, and HARM missiles to the cars and made it something special.)

Yours,