It happens to everyone to skip threads or miss one or two here and there.
Yes I am extremely proud of my collection. Lots of hrs are put into research because I know that certain things exist and they very rarely show up on eBay.
The first years I started collecting, I spent probably 4 to 6 hrs a day just surfing the net to find new stuff.
I dont beleive that someone can finish the Myst games without having to cheat once. The games are definately hard but once you get the hang of it, its not really difficult.
I did have to refer to the guides here and there and slaped my forhead here and there also saying to miself "f...k I'm stupid" or " why did'nt I think of that"
Depending on certain games you really need strategy guides to solve one puzzle and IF someone tells me that they did'nt need one, well I just tell them "BULL S..iT".