New to Modern Boardgaming?
When most people think of board games, they tend to think of either ancient strategy games such as Chess and Backgammon, or the classic mass-market games like Monopoly and Scrabble. Strangely enough, these last two games were invented in 1935 and 1948 respectively! Since then, thousands of games have been published and the modern hobby of board gaming offers something for players of all ages and backgrounds.
Modern board games have been on a skyrocketing trajectory since the mid 80’s when the first “Eurogames” appeared in Germany. These proved popular with families thanks to their focus on skill over luck, downplaying of aggressive conflict, clear rules, and accessibility to parents and children alike. Not to be left behind, these were followed shortly by the theme rich but slightly chaotic American style games, sometimes referred to as “Ameritrash”. More recently, platforms such as Kickstarter have opened the world to a host of new board game designers and their ideas. These days, the board gaming world is awash with exciting new ideas and innovations that both draw on this rich history and push the hobby forward.
As people increasingly look for social outlets and family activities that get us away from our digital lifestyles, board games continue to represent a wonderful outlet for fun with friends, family and strangers alike.
The board games of today are the best of both worlds, combining new and fascinating rule systems with rich and wondrous worlds.
There are a little over 85,000 board games in existence today and more and more are being created every day. The sky is the limit when deciding what you want to play.
If you love a good story or theme, you can play the role of firefighter, explorer, pirate, farmer, town planner, doctor, or even zombie. There are games for almost every theme you can imagine.
If you’re not interested in the competitive side of gaming, there are many excellent co-operative games that see you and your friends working together to beat the game.
If mastery of strategy is your game, there are plenty of examples that will reward repeat play and learning the intricacies of their elegant systems. Maybe you’re the gambling type and like a dash of chaos in your games, there are plenty of those too.
If you’re pressed for time, there are games that play in under 5 minutes. Perhaps you’ve got time to burn, if so there are games that take all day.
Maybe you’re just looking for a good time hanging out with friends or meeting new people. There are plenty of great social games that we can introduce you too.
No matter your interests, there is almost certainly a huge range of games that we can recommend to you. Come and meet the friendly team at one of our regularly scheduled events (your first event is free), try an introductory game from one of our starter tubs or speak to one of our friendly volunteers and see if we can’t find something to suit your tastes.
