How I Got Into Gaming

On a board gaming group, someone asked how they got into boardgames and why would they play them more than video games. My reply:

I grew up on board games. Yes Candyland and Hi Ho Cherry-o when we were little; then chess, checkers, Sorry, Monopoly ( a favorite of my father’s, who would pull it out when mom was out and he was the lone parent with 2-4 kids), and Uno (which was a fave of my grandparents’); but also Pit (a fave of my mother’s), Waterworks, Pass the Pigs, Yahtzee, Operation, Curse of the Mummy, Trivial Pursuit, and other “Parker Brothers era” family favorites. My parents had regular cribbage nights with friends, and I learned lots of basic cards games, as well, on camping trips with parents and grandparents.

As we became teens, my mom instituted family game night to try to keep her angsty kids from escaping to the Atari or Colecovision or the telephone with friends (and later online with BBSes—yes, I am that age). She also started an annual tradition at Thanksgiving, where we would go to the store to buy a new game, and learn it and play it after dinner. Her whole plan was to just try to keep us talking to each other. I loved those moments of being around the table, good food, people we loved around us. I was sold on the gaming, but was not a graceful loser, especially against my brother.

I got into social games in college (think games like Cranium, Scattergories, Pictionary, or ImagineIf), but then dated and married a guy who didn’t like “performance games” where he felt like he was in the spotlight. I thought it meant he didn’t like board games, and there was a dry spell for a while.

The game-changer? Pandemic. Finding cooperative games was HUGE for us—a guy who didn’t want to be alone in the spotlight, and a gal who was trying to learn to be a gracious loser. We discovered modern games offered even more of what we both enjoyed, and the addiction began.

Now we own over 450 games, a mix across a wide spectrum, and my shy partner-in-life loves to host people and teach them new games to play together. In my mind, we are just continuing a thread my parents started in my life, and I am so happy to have this to share together.

Why play it more than video games? We don’t necessarily. We love our PlayStation, Switch, and Steam gaming. It’s just a different way to play games together. But the bonus is board gaming, for us (pre-COVID, anyway), is including friends across a wider spectrum of tech savvy-ness and interests. I feel like board gaming casts a wider net, and when we can gather again, I look forward to hosting gaming parties again. In person. Totes in real time 3D.

(Pictured: Anachrony)