It is amazing how wonderful a local community can be. Games bring us together, they can be therapeutic, help us develop skills and be a lot of fun. For the last two years, I’ve started to get involved in a local one to me and I’ve even got the T-shirt.
In Didcot, in Oxfordshire, there is a local group called Gweeples (it’s based in the Great Western area, hence the name) and this year’s event was held at a local community centre. Each year Gweeples offer a great day of gaming, hold a raffle for charity and offer spaces for playtesting games, Blood on the Clocktower sessions and stalls offering game related paraphernalia.
At this year’s event, I started the day by teaching History of the World to some friends and it was well received and then I played a number of games with others throughout the day as you would expect, but a few things really struck me at this event.
Educational games
A friend of mine designs educational games and is currently playtesting one with a dinosaur theme. The cards feature nice artwork, and the mechanics are simple and I had the chance to sit in and play a game with someone else learning. I enjoyed the new game experience, but what I noticed most, in a side room dedicated as a learning and playtesting area, was how popular the room was and how peaceful the play. It was a relaxing space, no pressure and I could see others patiently going through the motions of learning a new game. It was certainly in contrast to the noisy main hall being used and it reinforced the value of games being useful from an educational perspective.
Now I already understood this, but being in that room, absorbing the peace and patience really brought it home. Games can teach us and help us develop. This aspect has such a great value, and I hope this is something that increasingly helps develop passion for learning and playing.
Games are becoming more popular and increasingly we are seeing board games cafes open up. It is unsurprising now that many towns and even villages have board game groups and meet ups for trading card games, Warhammer and the like. Opening up opportunities to learn through games is a logical step to follow.
Harmony in diversity
The group is run to encourage and value everyone in coming together and enjoying the social benefits of playing games. At our regular meet ups, it is noticeable how wide a range of members regularly attend, but the convention, despite being small (or maybe because of it), saw a greater diversity of players including those who don’t ordinarily attend the twice monthly meetups. It was great to see and reassuring that games continue to have such capacity as a common interest to bring people together who otherwise may not meet up and share quality time. I can’t emphasise enough that games are more than just a means to have fun and people did mix. Just as there were groups of established friends playing, I also saw new faces trying out new games with new friends and I was one of them.
The atmosphere was convivial and inviting. Attendees regularly mixed and I could see it, the community within this meet up, the harmony amongst people of varied backgrounds. In a world that can come across as dark and depressing, games are bringing fun and light into the day.
Variety of games
When you have a long day to play, you have plenty of opportunity to play the games you want. Whether these are new games, long ones, quick fillers or the multi-player strategy contests, or perhaps trading card games or a host of other options for a day’s play, these days give you the opportunity.
Attending just the regular Gweeples nights are good to give people the opening to new games, but of course time is more limited. Here at Gweeplefest, you can relax and try out new games from a wider range of options. With players coming from further afield or locals not normally attending the games night, the value here is clear. New experiences, new friends, new connections. It’s a big reason for these conventions to exist. I can see the attraction for the larger event, but there is value to the local ones too and Gweeples is always well run, well organised and supported throughout the day.
Rewarding time
If you are able to, why not try and come along next time? Or if you are too far away, take a look at your local options and if you are able, maybe you’ll even get involved more and help organise a local event or even run an event of your own.
Whatever you do, it can be very rewarding and satisfying being part of something greater. If you are involved, you may even have a hand in helping shape events and being a proactive agent in helping your community.
About the author:
As well as playing board games, Neil has been playing a variety of roleplaying games since 1982, including creating campaigns as a GM and espousing the art and craft of being a good GM and the therapeutic value of games generally.
