From older games like Checkers to newer ones like, Dungeons and Dragons, tabletop games have been used for generations to challenge, entertain, and immerse players. When talking about tabletop games almost everyone thinks about the ones they played and enjoyed such as Monopoly, Risk, or Scrabble. There is however a massive variety of other games to revel in. A walking encyclopedia of all things tabletop, floor manager Lore Robeson of Games, Comics, Etc., talks about her personal experience with tabletop games.
What was your first experience with tabletop gaming?
I had a friend when I was nine years old whose mother had organized a Dungeons and Dragons game for her and her sister. They were allowed to bring two friends to the table so my first table was five girls and one boy between the ages of nine and eleven. This was back in ’91 when it was really popular.
What is your favorite tabletop game?
I was that typical goth kid in the 90’s, played a lot of White Wolf games, Rift, Shadow Run, off the wall type games where you could be dark really appealed to me and appealed to my gaming group in the day.
What is your favorite genre?
Anything that takes a lot of strategy over a long period of time. My friends and I would have epic Risk games. We would spend an entire weekend playing risk or war games. Materialistically I would have been more interested in other war games such as Warhammer had I had the capital to keep up on an army which can get very expensive.
What was is a board game that really surprised you with its mechanics?
I’ve seen a lot of role playing games, strategy, and resource building games, but when Betrayal at House on the Hill first came out, that whole mechanic half way through the game where everything changed and it was suddenly us versus the house, was a whole new mechanic that I hadn’t seen in tabletop or board games ever and I loved it. It was one of the coolest mechanics I had ever seen in my life and I don’t think that there has ever been an equal to that style of mechanic.
What would you say to someone who is not sure about participating in a game?
The great thing about these games is that many cases if someone already owns the game, the only thing your losing out on is time. There are a lot of resources you can find at stores such as this one where we are hosting an intro to Dungeons and Dragons for adults in October, where you can go and try it out and determine if its for you. If it is, then you can try to run it at home and play with friends. Always try it out first, buy the starter set. If you don’t like it, there’s not much to lose. If it is for you it becomes your outlet and a way to make life much more fun.
