Shannon Appelcline: An Ode to Games

One of my brothers, Jason, got married on Saturday. My wife and I selected a wedding present straight from our hearts, rather than from a registry: two German board games. Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne, to be precise. We thought that both Jason and his new wife would enjoy them, as they both enjoy games, though they more frequently play Monopoly than something from the German family.

But, it wasn’t just about fun. We gave them games for another reason: because of their particular ability to draw people together.

It’s usually lost on me that so many German games work best for four players because they’re often designed around the idea of couples getting together to play. That’s certainly not how they’re played here in the US, where more often than not German Games are the arena of we geeks, who come to the table singly to play them--but even given that, they still tend to accomplish the same goals here, in the United States. They give people an excuse to meet and talk, to laugh and smile, to socialize and be a part of a community.

I could have easily written this ode to roleplaying games, for I’ve had the longest experience with the communities that those games create. Today I still roleplay almost every Saturday with a group that I’ve been gaming with for twenty years. Dave P., Dave S., Dave W., Donald, and Kevin are all people that I’ve known since college days. There’s just no way we’d still be in contact if not for the fact that we have this weekly excuse to get together. And there are people who have joined us since, like Chris W. and Corina and Eric F. who are just as important to our gaming community. If some people have moved away (like Eric R. who’s now in New Zealand, Doug L. who was last seen headed toward the south, Bill who’s off in Massachusetts, Matt S. who’s in Texas, and so many others) or even passed away (my friend Chris V., who died much too young, last Christmas), they’re still near and dear to our hearts, because that community of gaming drew us so closely together for so long.

But even if my experience with a roleplaying community is the greatest, the community that I’ve discovered around Eurogames is no less impressive. There are 20 or 30 people that I regularly game with at Endgame, 6 or 7 of which I game with with some regularity. Another couple of people join me most weeks for my “review gaming nights.”

Overall, games connect me to a community of scores of people, and each of those people are connected to scores more. That’s one of the powers of our hobby.

And then there are all the games I’ve played with my wife: Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Memoir ‘44, Seasons, Mystery Rummy, Alhambra, Lost Cities, and many more. We’ve literally spent hundreds of hours playings various games hundreds of times. It gives us another activity to do together, another way to appreciate each others’ company.

That’s why we gave my brother and my new sister-in-law some games for their wedding. They may not have been in their registry, but as long as they enjoy them (and I think they will) those games will help them to be together better than any steak knives or flatware.

And that’s why I’ve written this ode to games today, because in many ways small and large, for married partners, for couples, and for ever-increasing webs of friends, games help bring people together. So, kudos to them and the designers who make that possible.

And finally, congrats to Jason and Lisa.

Around the Corner

My most recent board-game reviews have covered Looting London and Waterloo. If you’re a Martin Wallace fan, you should definitely read the latter one, to figure out if a war game is to your liking.  Over in my journal, I’ve written about two other Alea games, Wyatt Earp and Royal Turf.

Finally, if you’re a roleplaying fan, you may be interested in the things that I’m writing about the Traveller RPG, including: a review of Space Viking, which represents a first look at Traveller-related fiction; a whole series of Spinward Marches reviews; and a Traveller Actual Play thread.

And with that, I’ll see you back here in 14.

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