Before Covid-19 took over our lives, I was always a fan of board games. Whether it was opening up a cliché game of Monopoly or delving into the furthest reaches of Settlers of Catan, I always enjoyed the many facets of a few hours spent at the table with friends and family. Covid-19 and the subsequent quarantine has brought us together in a way unprecedented in recent years. Board games have become a large part of my growing family.
Up until a few years ago, my knowledge of board games and their diversity was limited to the category of family friendly games. The only games I ever played were ones found in most common family board game collections. Some of those games include Monopoly, Clue, Scattergories, Dominoes, Battleship, Life, Candyland, and Chutes and Ladders.
That is when I came across a wonderful series on YouTube called Tabletop. Wil Wheaton, in conjunction with Geek and Sundry, would play a myriad of board games with his friends and family. Each episode would showcase a different board game. The episode would include an introduction to the game, basic rules and gameplay, and tons of laughs and jokes as the friends would all sit around a table and play the game.
I used to be extremely jealous of the games on those episodes because were so vastly different from the types of games I had grown up playing. I didn’t have large groups of friends or family members that would be interested in playing games of those calibers.
Tabletop displayed a wide range of games with varying degrees of difficulty, strategy, and levels of fun. Some of those games were as simple as a varied version of Pictionary or a board game version of Family Feud. However, a good chunk of the games showcased a level of gameplay akin to video games or Dungeons and Dragons. As an avid lover of video games, most of the games made me salivate at the prospect of playing them.
Unfortunately, board games are expensive. You can easily buy family games such as Monopoly or Clue for a decent price, but when you delve into the world of higher end strategy games, the price rises steeply and suddenly.
When I finally moved to Wisconsin to be with my current fiancée, I realized that she enjoyed board games as well. Some of her family members also enjoyed board games. Because of this shared interest, I decided it was finally time to start building that board game collection that I always dreamed of having.
We started small with simple games, but over time, we have amassed a relatively small hoard of games containing varying degrees of gameplay. I know that Covid-19 has bonded families together in an unprecedented way, so I wanted to share my discoveries with all of you with the hopes that it might introduce you and your families to a new form of board game night.
Each blog post will contain a small review, breakdown of the rules, and other miscellaneous information about a board game. My expectations are to do at least two of these per week.
Please allow me to share my love of board games with you. Maybe you’ll find something new. Perhaps you’ll garner a new love for a game you didn’t even know existed. I might even cover games you’ve already played or owned, but I’ve found a way to open your eyes to the intricacies and wonders of that particular game.
Come with me on this journey as we discover a world of endless opportunity and growth through the bonds of competition, cooperation, and fun.
Check out Wil Wheaton’s Tabletop Series on Youtube:
Random Ramblings of a Redheaded Nerd 