W. Eric Martin: Gaming in the Middle East

No matter what your nationality or political point of view, you’d probably agree that U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq are stuck in crummy circumstances: they lack equipment; they often can’t tell friends from foes; they have to shoot people; they see other people shoot people; they’ve seen fellow soldiers injured and killed.

I can’t change this situation. I have no political clout beyond a vote at regular intervals and my letter-writing abilities.

What I can do, however, is try to address another complaint that many soldiers have: crushing boredom. While news reports from Iraq tend to focus on the violence and chaos that results from a nation disintegrating, they’ve also frequently mentioned that soldiers do a lot of sitting around with nothing to do.

In early 2006, I thought about sending games to U.S. troops to give them something to do in their time off, but all my efforts were fruitless. Most charity organizations want only monetary donations, and the military branches were even less inviting. The Army website specifically said not to send packages addressed to “Any soldier.” Packages should be sent only by family members and must be addressed to specific personnel. So much for that idea…

But in November 2006, someone on a writer’s organization mentioned AnySoldier.com, a website specifically designed so that strangers can send packages to American soldiers overseas. Members of American military units set up accounts at AnySoldier.com and include information such as the size of their unit, the unit’s male/female composition, which items they would like to receive, and—most important of all—where people can send care packages.

You can search the soldiers’ requests for specific items, and a search for “board games” brought up nearly 200 requests. Jackpot!

Rather than send just a few games on my own, I asked my local game groups (Unity Games and 6am Gamers) for donations, and a dozen or so members delivered, most of them with checks and a few with game donations. A second request on Fun and Boardgames brought in a few more donations. By the end of my self-imposed deadline, I had collected $480 and three decent-sized boxes of games.

Ray Dennis, owner of Geeks and Gamers in Meredith, NH and a 6am Gamer, threw in a dozen games from the store and generously offered a 20% discount. “I think it’s a great idea because I too once served overseas, and I know what it’s like to get a package when you’re away from home,” he said. With the discount Ray offered, I was able to buy $600 worth of games.

For the most part, I chose games that are small and easy to learn, with short playing times—not because I agree with a certain U.S. Senator who supposedly accused troops of being daft, but because a quick learning time seems like a good default choice when you don’t know a person’s gaming background. Besides, portability seems like a valuable asset for those without a permanent home, so card games made up the bulk of the order.

AnySoldier.com tells you to check for a soldier’s address the same day that you mail a package to reduce the risk of sending something to someone who’s no longer there. So I spent the weekend packing up games, many bearing notes of good cheer from the donors, and on Monday, Dec. 4, I checked addresses for four units, labeled the boxes, and mailed them. What will a few hundred lucky soldiers be playing in the months ahead? How about:

Wits & Wagers
I’m the Boss
Bohnanza x3
Tichu x3
No Thanks x3
Bang! x2
Frank’s Zoo x2
Coloretto x2
Loco!
Family Business x2
Five Crowns x2
High Society x2
Jungle Speed
Xactica x2
Time’s Up
Mystery Rummy #1 x2
Mystery Rummy #3
Super Munchkin
San Juan
Fluxx x2
Zombies!
For Sale x2
Lost Cities x2
Colossal Arena x2
Wyatt Earp
Give Me the Brain
Mamma Mia
Lucky Loop x2
Ebbets Field Pro Baseball Game
Yahtzee Texas Hold’em
Double or Nothing
Quiddler x3
Pig Pile
Skip-Bo
Uno H2O (to help keep the cards from getting sweaty, I guess)
MBT
Battles of Ardennes
Strategy & Tactics - various issues
General Magazine - various issues

If those soldiers aren’t into trick-taking games now, they surely will be by the time they return home.

Want to donate games yourself? Search AnySoldier.com for soldiers who want games, then scan your shelves for unwanted titles or those few games that you can’t trade away no matter how hard you try, then pack and ship. You can also search for soldiers from your area, and you can see when their unit is scheduled to leave Iraq. If they’re packing up in February, keep the donation to a few card games; if they’re staying through the summer, feel free to send along that copy of 7 Ages.

Next week, picking up strangers online…

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Comments:

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For another option, Eugene Zehner runs a boardgame group in Iraq, and in association with the Games Club of MD. They meet twice a month and have their current game inventory listed online at http://www.gamesclubofmd.org/locations.asp?location=33 . Eugene can be reached at and donations of games can be sent to him at SGM Eugene Zehner, MNC-I Chap, APO AE 09342 Posted by David Fair on Dec 5, 2006 at 06:21 AM | #

Check back in a few months. If there are more than 200 requests for boardgames then, you’ll know you have started a trend! Posted by Philippe Beaudoin on Dec 5, 2006 at 09:04 AM | #

Thanks for organizing this Eric!  I spent some time in Saudi and I would have loved to have gotten games like these when I was there. - we just had dominoes.  I’ve been wanting to send games to the troops after seeing some threads on BGG about it, but didn’t have the time to organize something myself. Thanks also to Ray for putting in the order and the generous discount! Posted by Jim Forsythe on Dec 5, 2006 at 09:13 AM | #

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