So this is my current collection after 10+ years of collecting. My first experiences with games that weren't classic board games were Chinatown and Secret Hitler, around 2015, two games that are still favourites to this day. In university, having people around to play Secret Hitler proved to me that I could invite people over with the only reason being to play games, and they would show up. Those nights of shouting at friends are still some really fond memories.
After that, I started getting more games, and I always try to get games with a mechanic I don't have yet. I'm not really interested in getting Werewolf or Avalon since I already have a social deduction game I love, so I try to explore new stuff: a real-time game like Captain Sonar, a board game where the board is in pieces like Istanbul, a 1v4 asymmetrical knowledge game like Treasure Island, or a game that you play while doing other stuff like Don't Get Got.
I also started getting into 2-player games, so the top shelf has all of those, with Tak being my favourite and probably the hardest to find.
Anyways, I have a long list of games I want to add to the collection, but if you know a cool mechanic I'm missing that you think I'd like, let me know! #games source