Minute 1… Choose Your Platforms
Dozens of video game platforms have been released since the 1970s, though only a handful are active at a time. Personally, I think supporting as many platforms as possible is the best course of action, but that’s not always possible. If you are forced to limit the number of platforms in your collection, the best way to choose is to go directly to your patrons and ask them what platforms they’d like to see on the library shelves.

Minute 2… Visit Metacritic
Metacritic is a review aggreagator that averages together hundreds of reviews to produce a “Metascore” for every game. While not perfect, the “Metascore” is a reasonable approximation of the overall critical consensus for every game. So point your mouse here and get to it: Metacritic.

Minute 3… Make a List of the Top 10 Titles on Each Platform You Chose
Metacritic also provides a list of the top-ranked titles on each platform broken down further into a “games released in the past 90 days” list and an “all time” list. Cruising down each list and pulling out the top ten for every platform you want to collect. This process will give you a wide selection of games that covers multiple genres and player preferences. Basically, you’re picking a little something for everything.

Minute 4… Order the Games on Your List
You’ve picked your games, so it’s time to do it, hit that “Buy” button.

Minute 5… Bask in a Job Well Done
Obviously, there’s more to building a game collection than all this. But this process will give you a good base collection that you can then supplement in the future with additional titles. Like the ones I select every week as “The Video Game Librarian Pick of the Week.”