What to do on a rainy day? Good one for us here in the left coast's Portland where rain is affectionately called "Portland Sunshine". My late father said that his grandmother had a saucy reply..."There are only two things to do on a rainy day and I don't much care for playing cards." Well, in this century, there are more choices than cards or, well you know. And board games -- yes, the analog version of games played on a board (perhaps set on the kitchen table) by people enjoying each other's conversation about the events of the day, have made a comeback. Why, in the SE section of Portland where we live, there are three big stores devoted to new board games that are not the childhood games you may recall. The store closest to us, Red Castle Games, is open until midnight every night! People rent and play games there as well as purchasing games to take home. Yes, in this very digital town, people play new-fangled yet old-fashioned board games -- and it is a cool thing to do.
Fellow Koscadians quill and pdxteacher have been introducing us to some of these new games. We are now hooked on Carcassonne, a tile laying game that produces a map, and Ticket to Ride, a map based game involving the building of train routes. These are both competitive games wherein one person wins.
But there is a new style of gaming that is cooperative rather than competitive. Players need to work together rather than against one another to win. One such that we have not played yet but look forward to trying with quill and pdxteacher is Pandemic, in which players have to work together to save the world from a deadly disease. There is no one winning player. You either all win or you all lose. I understand this one can be a little depressing because it isn't easy to save mankind from a horrible death. (Does anyone know if such a game has been designed around the theme of climate change?)
Is the playing of board games making a comeback where you live? And if so, do you have independent, bricks and mortar stores to visit like our Red Castle, or do you have to shop online?
It's Friday night, time to kick back, relax, and converse with friends. Please feel free to share your day, your weekend plans, and celebrate the real coming of Spring (it's here!).
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