Not the traditional bored games: Today's games much more than rolling dice, moving tokens on a board

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February 18, 2012

By Adrienne Martini Contributing Writer The Daily Star Sat Feb 18, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

Many adults have horrible memories of playing dull board games that never seemed to end. I'm looking at you, Life. You too, Risk.

Hours upon hours could be spent merely rolling some dice and moving a piece around a board. Unless, of course, you gave up and spent the time doing something more engaging, like watching paint dry.

But this time of year is perfect for cocooning indoors with a game and a few like-minded folks.

Fortunately, the board-game world has changed.

Now, it doesn't take too much hunting to find both an engaging game and a group of people to play it with.

"Board games have had a renaissance during the last 10 years," said Buran Doyon, the owner of Oneonta's Bearded Dragon Games and Comics.

"There have been a lot of great games coming out of Europe and a couple very young American companies are putting out brand new games that fix all of the stuff that you hated about board games that you played as a kid," Doyon said.

I discovered this firsthand over the Christmas holiday when I found myself playing Ticket to Ride, a board game all about building a train line. While I am not taken with trains or with fantasies of becoming a robber baron, I had more fun playing that board game for 45 minutes than I've had during a lifetime of Monopoly.

Modern game designers have clearly put more thought into how long a game plays and how it ends but there are other developments as well, Doyon said.

"It's no longer just roll dice and move around the board. There is much more interaction between players. I would say that there is much more strategy involved and player control of the outcome.

"With the very best of the last 15 years worth of games, you're doing a lot more thinking. It's a lot more interactive. Not just between players, but between you and the game. You're making many more decisions. That's a little bit more interesting than watching the dice fall," Doyon said.

The newer games also rely more on humor than older games. Apples to Apples, a card game rather than a board game, relies less on strategy and more on playing with language.

Also, more recent games are better at crossing generational lines.

Apples to Apples is a game that is fun for both my 6-year-old and me. The same can't be said of Candyland.

One of the best parts of this gaming renaissance are the opportunities to play with like-minded people. The World Boardgaming Championships (see www.boardgamers.org/) are held each summer in Lancaster, Pa.

There are events reserved for experts but it's also open to beginners and a great place to get your gaming feet wet.

You could get some local practice, too. The Bearded Dragon, at 19 Ford Ave., hosts a regular open game night on Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. at the shop.

"Our player base is really 8-year-olds to 80-year-olds," Doyon said. "We do have a fair number of parents show up with kids. I would say the majority of our player base, our customer base, would be students, but we have a lot of local community adult members, especially parents, but not exclusively."

More than half of the store's square footage is devoted to space for playing games; board games, yes, but there are also groups that play Magic: The Gathering, other card games and role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.

While there are structured events, including tournaments and demos, "people just come in during whatever free time they have," Doyon said.

"The founding principle of the business is two things: one, it's a retail establishment and two, it's kind of a community center. It was always part of our outlook since the founding of the business that it be both retail and activity based. We have a lot of room for people to come in and play," Doyon said. "And we have really excellent parking."