[almostdeadguy]

100% agree, I think the past 10-15 years of changes in the hobby have been profoundly negative.

- The trend towards videogame-ifying board games

- The trend towards "cozy" games, i.e. games that are not interactive, have no potential to produce negative emotions, and focus on a solitary optimization puzzle.

- The kickstarter-ification of games that focus on early release exclusives, excessive plastic, aesthetics over game design, etc.

I really urge players today to look at some of the games from the 90s to early 2000s if they're interested in getting into the hobby. Seek out some of the "classic" hobby games. Even some games predating that are fantastic, but you will also run into a lot of over-the-top simulationist war games during the 80s period.