It’s good to game…
A blog post by Sarah Atherton
One of the things I wanted to do when I started Get Your Game On Ltd in the autumn of 2020 was to share my passion for tabletop gaming with a wider audience. I know there is isn’t always time, or it’s not the right time or there isn’t the money to spend on a hobby like this, but even if it’s an occasional luxury I really advocate finding a moment, a friend and a few quid to invest in a decent board game (p.s. when we are out of lockdown, GYGOL will be setting up a games library so you don’t always have to buy a game to play it).
I also love video games and reading and watching box sets but there is something really quite life enhancing when I sit around a table with a group of friends or family (or even by myself) and start to play a game from a box.
And so, over time, it’s become increasingly my thing to do. And through the long dark teatime of the soul (otherwise known as January) I am extremely grateful that I have been able to distract myself from the gloom and the dread by just playing with cards, dice, meeples and yes….wooden catapults!
It has also been really great to find out that there are other friends, colleagues and neighbours who share my enthusiasm for this hobby and you would be surprised to know that not all of them are hairy, male and surgically attached to one band t-shirt that has clearly seen better days! Every hobby has it’s stereotype but I do think board gamers get stereotyped a lot which can be funny but not always helpful!
Thing is board games are great fun, a lot of them are genuinely straightforward to learn and to play and with a bit of patience, most people can master the rule-books of some of the heavier games too. If, like Marvin, the paranoid android from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you have a brain the size of a planet (or an asteroid…or a melon…What? Ed.), then the next step might be to design your own board game but you don’t have to be the smartest of smarty-pants or even particularly geeky to play many of the board games which are on the market these days.
So, debunk that myth right now. Most people can play board games if they want to. Some people might get really addicted and others might only want to play a game or two occasionally but like everything in life…it really does take all sorts and games really are for everyone.
And here’s the thing. Games make me laugh, distract me from more serious issues in my life, make me think and teach me patience, kindness and to be thoughtful whilst also letting me release my competitive and downright ruthless side in a safe way! When we play together I reconnect with my daughter and my other half, after a day of home schooling and work and it’s helped me to make new friends and enjoy spending time with old ones. As I sit around a table covered in board game ‘stuff’, I am visually engaged by what I see in front of me (and some of the stuff is totally awesome to handle too!). And it gets the old neurons firing as I formulate a strategy or take a chance as I roll a die or pull a card from a stack. (Phwoah…who knew board games could be so…stimulating?! lol!)
Ok, so I sometimes get through a lifetime’s supply of snacks and a pear cider or two during a games night (or more usually a games hour or two) but there are worse things in life…and board gaming leaves me feeling much more settled and satisfied with life than trying to find the next thing to watch on telly or too many hours spent trying to kill zombies on the PS4 (although in small doses this is very cathartic!).
So, it is good to game, to game it is good. If you start now you won’t regret it (and neither will your kids and your friends). Remember ‘play is our brain’s favourite way of learning’ (Diane Ackerman), ‘it is a happy talent to know how to play’ (Ralph Waldo Emerson)…and ‘quite frankly why should kid’s have all the fun!?!?’ (Sarah Atherton, gamer, 52).