My Adventure into the Boardgaming Subculture

I bought Carcassone and Tikal today. They look really fun. Carcassone has been around forever, and it is still one of the #1 rated board games of all time. And Tikal... well, let me tell you the whole story.

So I ended up at a board/card game store today at 21st south and 900 east. Its called Game Night Games. It is AMAZING!!! They have every type of board and card game you could possibly imagine. I was surprised to find they didnt sell any Dungeons and Dragons games. They just sell "family-type" games. I was impressed. Anyway, the guy who was in the shop was an overweight late 30s, hadnt showered type, who looked like his whole life was games of every kind. I talked with him a little about all the games and what his favorites were, and what would I like based on what Im looking for and have enjoyed in the past blah blah blah blah blah. He only recently started working there. He said he has been travelling the world going to gaming conventions, participating in gaming tournaments, and he knew just about every single game on the market and in the store. I even mentioned Stock Market, Scotland Yard, Go for Broke, PayDay, and any other "old" game I could think of, and he had played them all. He was an amazing resource for all things games.

He showed me games set in Egypt where you have to impress the Queen by building her buildings to her honor. There was a game where you chose to either be 1 of 4 different mobs or join the police force. Then as the mobs you battle each other for control of clubs and drug trafficking using boats, helicopters, cars, subways, etc to move aroudn the board all the while avoiding the cops who are also other players. That looked awesome! There was a game where you were Columbus trying to settle America and the other players were the natives and you had to bargain and fight your way to settle it or return to England empty handed. Seriously, he walked me through so many really cool games. I just couldnt figure out where ppl got such amazing imaginations to think up such things!

So anyway, I had already pre-chosen Carcassone as my game of choice just simply from reveiws and videos I had watched online. It looked amazing. He highly recommended it. But then he showed me Tikal and said of all the games he has ever played, that one was his favorite. Its got a great theme, quality parts, and twists and turns at every turn. He walked me through all the rules and some of his strategies and some of the twists to expect. So I had to buy it. There were some other ones too, some that took alot of thought, and some that were just quick and fun. We talked awhile about a card game called Killer Bunnies that has only been out a few months. He said it is one of the most exciting and fun card games in existence. Its so popular he said that they have monthly tournaments at the store and you almost cant get in anymore.

That was another thing, every Wednesday evening starting at 6:30, they have a gaming night where ppl bring new games that they just bought, or the store will pop one open that no one has ever played and they just have a great time playing board games. He said you have to come early cause by about 7ish the place is packed. Then every friday night they have a card tournament of some kind, including Rook tournaments. Then every Saturday is Killer Bunnies night for now. Man I was sorely tempted to buy that game. He said there is no other game in existence where you can stick it to the other player like you can in Killer Bunnies.

So it was quite an adventure for me, and I got a glimpse into a whole other world of boardgaming that I didnt even know existed, almost like a whole secret subculture right in the middle of Salt Lake. I think it would be kinda fun to show up to one of the game nights and see what it is like, but I doubt I ever will.

But one thing is for sure, I wouldnt go anywhere else to buy a board game. That place has everything, and knows everything about everything boardgaming.