I dig the idea of revisiting titles that have been 3+ removed from the last time the Club tackled them.
I think I would to, with some sort of age caveat. There are a number of games on the played list that I would be happy to play with the club that I probably wouldn't go back and play on my own.
Just spitballing but, combing the two ideas, have one quarter per year be the backlog quarter and all games older than 3 years are automatically nominated. Then the top 3 (or so) games from the vote become available to play as backlog titles during that quarter. This still narrows the field enough to get some discussion while allowing people to revisit older games.
I wonder if we are overcomplicating it. Do we need any sort of limit on repeats? Restricting new releases makes sense to promote participation, but is there a reason to limit repeats? If someone nominates a repeat and it gets the most votes, does it matter how long it has been since it was last played by the club? I'm wondering what benefit the restrictions provide.
I wonder if we are overcomplicating it. Do we need any sort of limit on repeats? Restricting new releases makes sense to promote participation, but is there a reason to limit repeats? If someone nominates a repeat and it gets the most votes, does it matter how long it has been since it was last played by the club? I'm wondering what benefit the restrictions provide.
I'm with you there, actually. The only reason I suggested an age limit was to prevent the same game from getting picked multiple times in a row. Otherwise, yeah, if it gets the most vote, then so be it.
Yeah it will probably work itself out. If enough new people are in the club that missed something before, eventually it will win again
This is my one hesitation. I like that currently less popular games get a chance to rise to the top, games that wouldn’t necessarily get a chance for conversation elsewhere.
I think allowing a game that has not been played by the club in a significant amount of time would be fine. I think especially in the last couple of years we have had a lot of turn-over on who is participating in the thread, so something from 2016 may have only been played by a handful of us at this point. Over three years since last play seems like a reasonable option to allow them for voting again since that would have been 12 games in between play sessions at the shortest time and time for new players to join or interest in a title to resurface.
I do agree with Chris that less popular titles getting a chance to shine is nice, but I think there have been a few on my list I missed way back when and would be happy to try out if they came up again.
And congratulations to kstress71 for finishing Yx IX: Monstrum Nox! Our musical theme for finishers of Ys IX is Winter Music in JRPGs. Here's a great one from Bravely Default: Land of Immortality!
And congratulations to Farscry for finishing Tales of Arise! This time, the theme will be going to space!
Man, I hadn't even updated the list of games on the front page! Talk about slacking.
Checking in on when we will start voting for Q2.
As a reminder, the 3DS eshop is going to go offline in a couple of weeks, so if there is a last minute 3DS game the club wants to play, this would be the best time. Although there have not been a flood of last minute sales so far.
Also, I've put a note on my list of possible club games to suggest Chained Echoes once it becomes eligible since it seems to be getting some positive buzz in the forums.
I would definitely be interested in playing Chained Echoes, but unless there was an early access release date we're counting from, it's only been out for like four months.
I was actually just thinking about this today, too! I think we'll start voting this weekend. But I'd like to take a straw poll now: for Q2 2023, are people more interested in a backlog game (i.e., something the club has played before) or something new for the club?
I'd strongly prefer to do just 1 or just the other, because our club is small and I'm worried about watering down participation. But, I also think that if we did a backlog quarter, I'd be fine with people each playing a variety of things that they all post about concurrently.
Speaking personally, part of the fun of these clubs for me is playing the same thing everyone else is playing, so I'd prefer that we stick to just one game as opposed to a "backlog quarter" where everybody plays something different. My fear is that that latter winds up being functionally identical to the club just skipping a quarter if no two people are playing the same thing and therefore back-and-forth discussion is limited.
My suggestion would be to allow noms / votes for games the club has played before (potentially with a "nothing within the past 2 or 3 years" caveat) and seeing what happens.
I agree with hbi2k, definitely prefer everyone playing the same game. I would be fine with allowing a previously played game from 3+ years ago to be a valid nomination
More or less seconding hbi2k; open up prior games that it's been 2-3 years on, but keep it to one game. I'm more likely to vote for new over something we've done before, although there is a few that I would get behind over something new (at a glance, something like Cold Steel 1, FF12, Earthbound, and Persona 5).
Yeah I think still pick one game. But allow club games from over 3 years ago back on the nominations
Anything from 2015-2019 in the OP for instance
While I have casually participated many times, I have only ever actually finished three club games during their designated quarter (Valkyria Chronicles, Trails in the Sky 1, and now Tales of Arise), but even when I don't finish, I get great enjoyment from the shared experience of it.
So while my vote should probably only count as, say, half a vote, I'd say I prefer the idea of keeping a quarterly selection going as it does give me extra motivation if it's a game I have even just some interest in. 
I agree, stick to one game but allow nominations from the days of our ancestors.
Well it seems the people have spoken! We’ll stick to one game. Tomorrow’s going to be a very busy day at work for me but I’ll kick off nominations after work tomorrow or on Saturday morning.
A new RPG draws near!
Nominations: Open NOW; close Monday, March 20, 9 p.m. U.S. EDT (GMT -4)
Ranked Choice: Open Monday, March 20, 9 p.m. U.S. EDT; close Thursday, March 23, 9 p.m. U.S. EDT (GMT -4)
Winner announced: on Friday, March 24
For the newbies, or anyone needing a reminder, here's our process:
The game must be at least 1 year old. Remasters (but not remakes) that are less than a year old are fine. The test is basically "could I play the old game, alongside someone playing the new game, and share a common experience?" And for the first time: Repeat club games are also fine, so long as the club played the game more than 3 years ago. (So, all games from Ys Origin through the beginning of the club are eligible)
Anyone can nominate one game, and second any number of games. Any game that's nominated and seconded moves on to the next round.
From there, we'll go straight to ranked-choice voting. Rank all the games you'd like to play, in the order that you're most interested in playing them. We strike the game with the least interest (tiebreaker: 2nd place votes; second tiebreaker: total votes) until we arrive at one with a majority!
I’ll nominate Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep!
I would like to nominate Octopath Traveler
I've got a couple of nominations I'm mulling over. I'll get it in before the nominations are over.
Also,
Repeat club games are also fine, so long as the club played the game more than 3 years ago. (So, all games from Ys Origin through the beginning of the club are eligible)
I had to double check since it didn't seem like it's been three years since we played Ys Origin. Man, time flies.
I know! I didn’t believe it either, at first.
I would like to nominate Octopath Traveler
I will second Octopath Traveler.
I will nominate... I don't know, I'll need some time to think about it. I've got four options on my list 
I'm in a retro mood lately, and I missed out on the Breath of Fire series back in the day, so I will nominate Breath of Fire 3, which I have been informed by reliable sources is a good place to jump in.
I have to nominate Final Fantasy X-2, since we finally can. I played X for the first time a couple years ago and I've had enough breather I'm ready for the sequel.
I'll second Final Fantasy X-2. Been curious about it for a while, figured someone else would nominate it if I didn't. (:
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