Chapter 5: Bohnanza (or The Addiction of the Collection Junkie)

There is something about getting more things.

I don't know when I noticed it. At first it was really just something that happened. Dad came home with a new pack of baseball cards, then hockey cards. Sports was his thing, so maybe I hadn't noticed it before, but perhaps that collection was more for him. Then I had a mind of my own and Garbage Pail Kids came out. Oh man, Garbage Pail Kids. So. Many. Cards. I couldn't get enough. But even then, I hadn't noticed it. It was just something I liked doing. It didn't feel like a compulsion. A need to get ALL THE THINGS. It was just fun to look at them and laugh.

Even later on when Garbage Pail Kids went the way of Madballs and M.U.S.C.L.E. Men, and was replaced by Marvel cards and Pokemon. With Pokemon, I'd never played the game for the story. Never collected the cards for the game. Hell, I didn't even know how to play the card game until maybe a year ago and my daughter took interest in them. It was about getting more Pokemon cards, more Marvel cards, more movies on VHS and then DVD, and more about getting more beans (more on that later).

But collecting is hard work (and rather costly - if you're reading this I'm sure you're aware. How's that board game collection going and are your kids going to be able to afford college at this rate?). So, what can you do? You can't just rely solely upon your own funds sometimes and certainly you can't simply rely on luck of the draw (ANOTHER Spider-Man?!?!). Back in the day, dad would only buy you so many packs at a time. So, you snuck that card collection book into your backpack and you brought that thing to school. Oh, you have an extra Wolverine? Well, I have a Spider-Man for that Wolverine. No? What if Thor joins the party? Deal!

Everyone was happy. The collections got bigger and no more money spent. The life of a collector.

Now what about those beans? Well, that's Bohnanza. You collect some goofy looking beans, planting them in your fields, trading unwanted beans with your friends, and harvesting them for gold (money, the mother of all collections). This game is a staple in my collection. It is my most played game (that isn't a solo game). Can't recommend this enough as a gateway / filler type.