Getting on Board

If I were to categorize my 2018 in any way, I’d say it was the year of board games. Now, I have always been a fan of games. This is nothing new. But 2018 marked more structured playing time and more effort.

In the beginning of the year, I got to know a few vintage board games through a monthly event hosted by the historical society. Truthfully, those events haven’t always been successful and time spent playing games hasn’t always been worthwhile. But it has presented me with the opportunity to try new (old) games, and I even bought one after playing it there.

I was later introduced to Board Game Arena, a site where you can play a few games online, by a fellow Redditor. We no longer speaker, but I occasionally log on to play games.

During the summer, I attended a small board game con with my sister. The library was huge, which gave me a chance to try out games I’d heard of only. Unfortunately, I was incredibly tired, but I enjoyed the chance to play new games. It incited me to do it even more.

Fortunately, I was given that chance when someone local contacted me to let me know about a weekly event at our local game shop. To be honest, it’s a place I had spent very little time. I always felt a bit intimidated by it, I suppose. Partially because I am a woman and partially because I am so casual about so many geeky things. I like a lot of casual games (video and board) and sometimes read comics, but just have never really delved into them. People who are intent on geek gatekeeping would not likely approve of my level of participation, enjoyment, or knowledge of those things. I suppose I worried that people within the game shop would be that way.

However, the timing worked out well with family things being so tumultuous and knowing that my sister wanted to play more games, too. Plus, I was sick of vintage titles. We’ve only been able to attend a handful of times, but I’ve been able to try some games I’ve long heard of (Splendor, Dixit, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and 7 Wonders among them) and a few new ones (Everdell) as well as enjoy a few rounds of Fluxx or Munchkin, which are always popular.

Aside from playing more games, this has really given me the opportunity to get to know a space that’s actually quite welcoming and to meet some new people. It’s all illustrated how I feel about playing games — at least, at this point in my life. It also explains why some game nights have failed to impress upon me.

Basically, it comes down to this: I’m there to play games for the sake of playing games and any socializing is incidental. I have been leaning in this direction for a while, so this isn’t a surprise. However, five years ago, I was all about socializing. The tables were turned.

Many of my friends are still like that, which is fine… except when I want to focus on an activity or play something with more depth than a party game. Sadly, the people who are there to socialize seem to be those who struggle to pay attention to the game. They also seem to be the type of people who wouldn’t notice that some people are there specifically for the game.

I don’t think this is different from any hobby. There are always those more serious about the activity than the people. I’m not positive that it’s always the case, but it does seem like people who want to socialize struggle to recognize that there are people who whom that isn’t the point. Ironically, everyone who seems more intent on gaming (like those from Board Game Revolution) seems to understand that there are two camps of people (and look disdainfully down on the other camp lol).

It’s interesting to me something as innocuous as playing board games can shine a light on an issue that I am dealing with in life in general: people who are unwilling or unable to think about others’ motivations and take them into consideration. But it’s frustrating no matter the venue, I suppose.