Board Games

A few years ago a couple of my close friends gave me a gift that would change my life. This would change the way that I spent a lot of my free time, open me up to new social circles, and make me travel halfway around the country. What, you might ask, was this present?

A board game.

Now, I should clarify here. This wasn't just any board game...I didn't unwrap a copy of Monopoly. This was a different type of game. When I unwrapped the game, I was confused. The title, Carcassonne, was completely foreign to me. They said that they had "read good things" about the game, so they thought I would like it. 

One of the tiles from Carcassonne, along with
a green "meeple". 

Well, I took it home, opened it up, and was surprised. There was no board and no dice. Just some tiles and some very strange looking pieces. I read the rules and it sounded interesting, but very, very different. So we sat down and gave it a whirl. 

It was AMAZING. 

I'd never played a game quite like this before. There was such a difference between the games I was used to and this one. The rules were simple, but the game wasn't simply driven by luck. I had more fun playing this game than I had with any other game in a long time.

So, I did what any other person would do...I went to the internet to learn more about it. And that's when I discovered BoardGameGeek. This was a whole website devoted to these "designer" board games. And there were thousands of them. And I wanted to try all of them!  

And so began my obsession with board games.

When I stop to think about it, the primary thing I love about board games is the social interaction that you get from an evening with a good game or two. Three or four people playing a game together will get a good chance to chat, catch up, have a few drinks, and sometimes bond over the game they are playing. 

I realized a few years ago that I would rather spend a night home playing a game with some friends than going out to have a drink. It is cheaper, more fun, and doesn't leave your wallet or head hurting the next day. Some of my favorite nights over the last few years were spent playing games with my friends. 

Last night something else came to mind that I love about board games: they are, in many ways, puzzles. And I have always LOVED puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles, mystery novels, little flash games on the computer...a lot of these are simply puzzles in one form or another. The challenge that comes along with trying to figure out how to solve any one of these was always thrilling to me. 

Board games, at least a lot of the ones that I like, tend to be the same way. When I look at some of my favorite games, there are elements to them that are much like solving a puzzle. And the ones I truly love have a great deal of variability...even after 100 plays you could have a different experience every time.

I'm sure I'll babble on about board games every now and then, so I thought it was important to start from the beginning. My origin story, if you will. And if you're interested in Carcassonne, there's a good review on BoardGameGeek that goes into detail about the game. Check it out if you have a few minutes!