For nearly everyone board games were a part of their childhood. Those endless games of Monopoly, the fear of the buzzer in Operation, the heinous cheating in Uno. Again for most people board games were something you grew out of as you aged. Games are for children right? WRONG!
Board games as a hobby is worth globally $12 billion. It involves millions of people fascinated by 100,000s of games. Modern board and card games are supported by a network of You Tubers, podcasters and massive annual conferences. You might think that gaming is about lone teenagers playing video games online in darkened rooms, chess championships, geeky adult men playing Dungeons and Dragons or poker nights. It can be all that (except the video gamers - they are a whole different subset of geeks - sorry - hobbists) but it is so much more.
For example myself and my wife are in our 50s. We came to the hobby late. There is nothing we enjoy more than spending a long Argyll winter evening working cooperatively to pull off a casino heist, solve a Sherlock Holmes whodunnit, stop a global pandemic, clear a dungeon of skeleton warriors, defeat old Gods in a HP Lovecraft inspired mystery or simply organising trains to run on time. If we are feeling combatative we might challenge each other to build the best space truck out of junk, end up top of the social ladder in 18th century English aristocratic society, build a successful moonbase or be the richest merchants in Istanbul. It could be a long game of Viking village building or a short game of bluffing in Cockroach Poker.
The themes and mechanics of modern board games are boundless. You are often limited only by player count, time and of course your imagination. It has been medically proven that playing games brings people closer and strengthens relations. I know it will sound geeky but our marriage benefits massively from kicking the asses of a group of evil spirits we have battled together against all evening. That last card played that pulls victory from the drooling maw of defeat is a genuine high five moment. Playing games increases brain function. Many games are very strategic, there is a word in the gaming lexicon to describe this; "crunchy". This is due to constantly crunching all the variables in the path to victory. If you think Chess is the ultimate in strategy and playing 4 or 5 turns ahead then try "Brass Birmingham". You will then see Chess as Checkers! Gaming therefore teaches you to better set goals and develop your patience. Ultimately gaming and games makes you happy. There is nothing like a beer/wine with friends around a table with a favourite game to reduce stress and create laughter.
If any of the above sounds intriguing, if you feel you maybe board/card game curious then sign up to Board Game Night at Ford Village Hall. If you are a complete newbie, someone who once played Code Words and has heard of Wing Span or a level 10 Gloomhaven wizard then we have a home for you. We will provide you with a safe space to explore this fascinating hobby, meet new people and have fun.
Come along and sign up at the Hall on Ford Gala Day, July 27th. Or you can contact us at walkesteve@gmail.com. Gaming will start this Autumn on a date and time to be mutually agreed.
Games described above are:
- Burgle Bros 2: The Casino Capers
- Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
- Pandemic
- Jaws of the Lion
- Mansions of Madness
- Switch and Signal
- Moon
- Obsession
- Istanbul
- Cockroach Poker
- A Feast for Odin
- Galaxy Trucker
- Brass Birmingham
- Code Words
- Wing Span
- Gloomhaven
