So Retro It鈥檚 Ahead of Its Time
鈥淵ou will not get bored at the Board Room,鈥� says Mary D鈥橭rvilliers, a May 鈥�18 graduate who spent school breaks and occasional weekends managing a board game caf茅 in her hometown, Middletown, Connecticut.
A board game caf茅 is just what it sounds like 鈥� a caf茅 stocked with Monopoly, Sorry, and the like, where patrons are encouraged to put down their cell phones, set aside their laptops, and sit down across a table from actual people and enjoy some old-fashioned entertainment.
D鈥橭rvilliers, who was looking for summer work, was hired by the Board Room鈥檚 owner when he first opened the caf茅 two years ago. Her job was to stand by the door and greet customers. Now, as a manager, she creates schedules and weekly and monthly events for the caf茅. In those two years, she says, the business has really taken off.
The Board Room is lined with shelving that holds more than 500 games. For $5, customers can have access to any game from open until close, even if they leave the caf茅 and return. The Board Room also has a designated area full of books available to read and a kitchen offering food and drinks.
The caf茅 attracts mostly people in their 20s and 30s but the ages range. School kids tend to show up during school vacations. A gaming caf茅 is a fun place to go for people who want to try something new, D鈥橭rvilliers says: 鈥淚t’s a different activity that鈥檚 not going to the movies or going roller skating. It鈥檚 very inexpensive but can last the entire day.鈥�
In a time when people tend to connect and to play games virtually, a board game caf茅 is a way to reconnect with the actual world. 鈥淓veryone is so attached to the technology of having games on their phone, so if you come with a bunch of your friends and get to play games, you forget about your phone because you鈥檙e so into talking to an actual person and playing a physical game in front of you,鈥� she says.
She tends to recommend games that are easy to learn and addictive. 鈥淢y favorite two- to eight-person game is called Tsuro, in which you build a path and you have keep your pawn in the middle while your opponents are trying to keep their pawns in the middle, and if they crash into each other you鈥檙e out. So it鈥檚 all thinking about where you鈥檙e going and what your strategy is,鈥� D鈥橭rvilliers says.
D鈥橭rvilliers, a secondary education and Spanish major who did her student teaching in a Spanish classroom at Keene Middle School last semester, says that whether she鈥檚 at the Board Room or in a classroom, she鈥檚 always using her teaching skills. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 talking to people about their likes and dislikes and trying to see if they鈥檙e interested in a game or event, I鈥檓 definitely trying to use the communication skills I use with kids,鈥� she says. 鈥淭eaching how to play a board game is the same as trying to teach something in another language.鈥�
鈥� Grace Pecci 鈥�18