I’ve talked a lot about board games here, but, you know, board games are expensive. Some of the games I’ve mentioned cost upwards of $50. And some other games I’ve played, with all of the expansions added, cost well above $100.
This is comparable to video games, sure, but finding copies used or deeply discounted can be a problem. Many board games simply fall out of print instead of being sold for less than the asking price. For many people, they’re simply unaffordable.
But there’s hope: board gamers are a friendly bunch, and if you don’t mind getting out of the house, you can find some great opportunities to play games you’ve never seen before and meet a lot of new people.
Saturday, for example, is the annual “Tornado Alley Game Day” at the Sedgwick County Extension Center. The event is put on by the Wichita Area Boardgamers and Kansas State University’s “Bonding Thru Board Games” program, and is one of the biggest board game events of the year in Wichita. The event is open to all ages, and often entire families come to play through the day.
There will be hundreds of games available to play. You’ll have an opportunity to play Carcassonne, Ticket To Ride, Fluxx, The Resistance, and Dixit, all games I’ve spoken about before. Even a few new games that haven’t been released yet will be available to test.
Simply check out a game, and you can take it to an open table to play with your family, or you can ask around for other people to join you. If you’ve never played the game before, you’ll almost certainly be able to find someone who has, and who would be more than happy to show you how.
If you can’t make it out for this one, that’s okay – the Wichita Area Boardgamers host smaller board game nights a few times a month, with plenty of friendly gamers that will show you how to play any game they have.
