Chris Kovac: The Elliot Avedon Museum & Archive of Games

The Elliot Avedon Museum & Archive of Games is the only museum in Canada dedicated to the study, preservation and display of board games. It is a small museum located on the ground floor of Burt Matthews Hall, University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

The Museum was founded back in 1971 by Professor Elliot Avedon as part of the Department of Recreation and Leisure studies to help with the department’s studies on Gaming and Culture. I interviewed the very knowledgeable onsite curator of the Museum, Alicia Waite, about the museum and its unique collection and assembled the following Q&A from her responses:

Q: What is the Museum’s purpose?

A: The Museum’s purpose is to research, collect, preserve and exhibit games and game-related objects. The collection is used primarily for researching and teaching leisure studies at the University of Waterloo

Q: How many items are in its collection?

A: The museum currently has a collection of 5,000 items of which the majority are board games, though the collection does include mechanical games, puzzles and electronic games.

Q: What events does the Museum run during the year?

A: The Museum puts on two themed exhibits a year with a two-week break between exhibits. Furthermore, it holds an annual Crokinole tournament on Canada Day (July 1). The current exhibit is of games from 1957 since the University is celebrating its 50th anniversary, but some exhibits in the past have included Canadian games and Chess. (Photos from the exhibit are included below.)

The Museum also has an outreach program to local schools to show and teach students games using game kits. The kits include Inuit, Iroquoian, Egyptian (Senet), Upper Canadian (Pioneer times) and Chinese games. Each kit would have the games and some teaching material to show how they fit in the various cultures.

Q: How can one access the collection?

A: The collection is best accessed through the Museum website, which shows pictures and has detail about items as well a number of early papers on games, especially those dealing with aboriginal games from various parts of the world. If you wish to see a particular game or have a short tour of the collection, contact the Museum directly at 519-888-4424.

Q: How can one donate to the Museum?

A: If you wish to donate to the museum, you can email the Museum with details about the desired donation. Someone at the Museum will check to see whether the game is already included in its collection, then get back to you. Due to limited storage space, the Museum is more selective about the items it accepts than it has been in the past.

Q: What is the future of the Museum?

A: In the past, the Museum accepted a large number of game donations from individuals to expand its collection, but limited storage space will prevent unlimited growth in the future. The Museum is currently collecting only a limited number of rare or culturally significant games, especially ones from Korea or Japan. Hopefully in the future, there will be an established chair for the Museum since its founder, Elliot Avedon (who maintains its website), is currently retired.

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In conclusion, the Elliot Avedon Museum and Games Archive is a small, academically orientated museum which strives to show and preserve our gaming heritage with limited budget, limited storage and display space, and very limited staff. Hopefully it will continue its current mission and possibly have access to better resources in the future. It is worth the effort if you are in the area to drop in and have a quick visit to the Museum.

[Editor’s note: So what’s with the whale pictured above? It’s actually a gambling game based on ones created by Pacific Northwest Indians. You can find details on Slahal on the Museum’s website.]

Pictures - Click the picture for a larger version
	All Star Hockey Game
	Wide World (BoardGameGeek listing)
	Shopping Center (BoardGameGeek listing)
	Pennant Race

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