Screens are everywhere, but it’s about time we break out of their chains and get back to what’s good: playing board games.
Laura Schneider, owner and founder of Meeples Games in Seattle, is an avid board game player. She started her business because she wanted to create a place where anyone could just hang out, play games and have a good time.
“Since we’ve opened, it’s become very clear that the isolation of interacting on digital devices and not interacting face-to-face is harmful,” Schneider said. “We want people to be able to sit across from someone and look them in the eye and laugh and talk.”
A place like Meeples is important. It’s somewhere where you can go by yourself or with a group of friends and hang out all day. But perhaps the coolest thing about Meeples is that you can go there to meet new people and form new connections.
“We’ve actually had a couple of marriages, a couple of babies,” Schneider said. “Lots of relationships start between staff and customers.”
All this because of board games and shared interest — and it’s not just Meeples people! There are other places and communities just waiting for you to show up and play.
Western Washington University has its own Board Game Club that meets every Thursday and Friday from 6 to 9 p.m.
Orion Cassell, the club’s current president, spoke about why he thinks board games are vital in forming these new and sometimes lifelong connections.
“Having a structured format for social gatherings is pretty useful for most people,” Cassell said. “I think board games are just a really good way of being like, ‘Hey, we all have these shared rules, and we’re gonna interact with each other through this structure.’”
On Western's campus, Dungeons and Dragons (DND) is a popular way to find community. The story-telling game requires a regular time commitment, so it's important for players to find a group they get along with.
“When I came to college, the friends that I had made … we decided to start playing DND together. We got a couple of random people to play with us,” said Tyler Nolasco, a former Western student. “That was three years ago. We’re still playing it today.”
Nolasco explained that he ended up forming long-lasting relationships with those “random people” through the campaign. Although he didn’t know them very well, he wanted to keep that connection.
“Now, I consider them to be some of my best friends,” Nolasco said. “Like, they’d be in the lineup for my groomsmen.”
Board games can be a silly time, but they actively bring us all together. Through the innocent banter and conversation that takes place when we play, we learn about others, find common interests and connect.
Ultimately, board games can be a powerful tool in the art of human connection.
“Life is a game, and playing tabletop games, board games, charades — whatever it is, it’s part of what humans do, and we should embrace it,” said Schneider.
Adeline Roesler-Begalke (she/her) is a first time reporter for The Front this quarter. She is a public relations major and a hopeful film studies minor. When not reporting, you can expect to find Adeline on her couch watching movies with her friends. You can reach her at adelinerb.thefront@gmail.com.
