During this pandemic, board games have been a valuable pastime for many people, whether it's breaking some out with the family and friends or learning how to play games on new online platforms. At Johnson County Library, our Table Top Games Committee has been trying to think of ways that we can share our passion with our patrons even if we can’t meet in person. We are looking forward to online gaming events starting next year, so if you are interested in playing games, please stay tuned for our first program starting January 6th!
Katy talks about the beginning of Table Top Games at the Library
Since I was young, I remember playing games with my family, and that it was a special time that I always enjoyed. I remember taking great pride in beating my parents at Memory, and when I was older I enjoyed playing Sorry, Sequence, and a host of other games. Around high school I started noticing that big box stores didn’t really change their games out that much. They would just tweak Clue or Monopoly and put a different theme or cover on it, and I was getting tired of playing the same thing over and over again. Then when I reached college, I was introduced to Settlers of Catan, and I remember loving getting to play something new and unique, and I started looking for more games like it. After college, I realized there was a whole world of games that I had never heard of or seen before that were just waiting for me if I knew where to look.
With my growing passion for playing games and my blossoming collection, I started seeking them out at local game stores like 31st Century Games and Table Top Game & Hobby. Around this time, Wil Wheaton started his YouTube show, Table Top, and I realized that this new hobby that I was falling in love with was starting to have a major following. I started to dream about how I could bring Table Top games into my job at the Library. I approached one of my co-workers, Josh, about starting a Table Top program, and we got the approval to start a program at the Lackman Library in 2013. It turns out other people in our community enjoyed playing games as well, because we have run the program continuously until this March, when Covid-19 made meeting in person impossible. However, we look forward to the day when we can host more gaming programs again at the library and share our love of gaming with you!
Katy’s Favorite Games:
Sagrada, Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Ganz Schon Clever! (That’s Pretty Clever!), Wingspan, Camel Up!, Horrified, Dragon’s Breath (to play with my children), Kingdomino
Read our other Table Top Games Committee members' stories and favorite games »