Gotta Support the Geek

Back in January of 2004, I was hunting around on the Internet for some rules to an out-of-print game. At that time my favorite gaming web site was Web-Grognard -- a (still-existing) site devoted to wargames. But the game I was looking for wasn't a wargame, so I turned to Google.

My Google search turned up a link to an incredible site called BoardGameGeek. Virtually every game I had ever heard of had a page at the site, with each page having photos, reviews, FAQs and links. It was (and still is) the definitive site for gamers. The great thing was that all of the content was community-driven. Unlike most gaming sites at the time, it wasn't just one person's reviews -- anyone wanting to post a review or photo could post one.

BoardGameGeek was four years old when I found it; it's celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It continues to be my go-to site for learning about new games and getting support for the games I own and play. It's one of the first sites I check into every morning, and I'd be hard-pressed to name a site that gives me more value on a day-to-day basis. To make things even better, about a year ago, the site expanded to include role-playing games, and this summer it added video games.

Once a year, the site's founder, Scott Alden, has a fundraising drive. I'm sort of ashamed that I've never dontaed before today, since I get more out of the site than a lot of other non-profits that I donate to every year. So I decided that it was time to hit the PayPal button and make the $15 donation to become an official supporter. As of now, after less than a week, the drive is already over 2,000 on its goal to have 3,000 supporters.

Anyone who's never visited the site should check it out. If you're a gamer, I'll bet that a year from now, you'll be clicking the "donate" button.